To think toddlers don’t need snacks?

[Cuppasoupmonster]

I was just pondering this when washing up. I’ve never really given DD snacks, she has her 3 meals a day and that’s usually it, maybe once or twice a week she will have a digestive biscuit or yoghurt if dinner is going to be later than usual. However it seems like when we go on days out with other mums and toddlers, they come laden with snacks that are whipped out every hour or two. AIBU to think toddlers don’t really need to snack and this might be contributing to the obesity crisis?

not sure maths would be the OPs strong point considering the silly comments thus far on this thread.

Oh please you know the difference, you’re just trying a desperate gotcha

And I’m not sure comprehension is yours. My point has never been that ‘snacking = extra calories = obesity’. It’s that snacking may have an impact on the metabolism by never ever letting the stomach be empty/hungry, and instilling habits of compulsively eating. I’ve discussed it with previous posters

No, you're INSISTING that toddlers dint need snacks. Except you give your child a snack if you think they might be hungry between meals.

Which is exactly what everyone else does, they're children are hungry between meals, sonare given snack...

So why are your snacks "allowed" but others aren't?

So as expected, your point is based on something you’ve made up and is actually medically proven not to be true for children.

Gee

00100001
No. When I drink my mugs of black coffee no sugar in the morning and then change to mugs of sugarless tea in the afternoon, I drink, I do not eat, no biscuits, cakes, bars etc.
Black coffee no sugar a snack, I don’t think so, oh I forgot I also drink warm water.

But you're wrong.

It's clear that it's the abundance of hyper processed salty sugary shit food that is the problem.

No-one is going to get obese eating salad, meats, plain yoghurt and brown rice.

But they will get obese eating doughnuts, processed meats shaped to look like a bear, chocolate yogurt with sugary cereal to stir in and potato smiles.

I'm not sure what you're replying to?

I was saying that elevenses and afternoon tea is a traditional snack time and it going back centuries in the UK, to support the notion that snacking is not a recent phenomena.

This reminds me to add snacks to the shopping list for toddler DD tomorrow (who incidentally is a normal healthy weight, as am I)

Thanks for the reminder OP!

No, no, I'm serious, mate. Because I give my child breakfast and then she moves at a pace and intensity that, were she an adult doing similar, she'd be chugging back energy gels like there was no tomorrow. So, I'm thinking, maybe, your kid's just a bit fucking dull.

Thoughts?

ChateauxNeufDePoop
A healthy snack is still calories and calories all add up.

OMG do you want your child to be obese.????

One of my friends is a dietician working for the NHS. She says most young kids simply can’t/don’t eat enough in their meals on a regular basis to get the nutrition that they need.

Their stomachs are small, they get ill fairly often affecting appetite, they’re easily distracted, fruit/veg has often been stored and nutrients depleted, texture issues are common restricting what they eat and she says many kids don’t seem to like to feel really full, unlike adults, so will stop eating before that.

She says the aim is for kids to eat 3 meals and 2/3 snacks each day, obviously in an appropriate portion and then looking at their diet over a week, they hopefully get what they need. And then give them vitamins on top to be sure. She says the absolute best things are to model good eating habits, (choosing healthy snacks is part of that, but not for OP) not make too many rules around food (like OPs silly no snacking idea), not to use foods as rewards, and keep processed foods to a minimum. I don’t think my friend would think OPs way of doing things is the best way longer term.

Mate 😆

My thoughts are that you’re a sad little person to be so nasty about a small child.

Haha, no worries!

Do you think it’s okay to occasionally eat chocolate, or should it be eaten every day?

That's got nothing to do with what the OP has posted.

Why does a snack have to be only chocolate?

Eat chocolate every day if you like...won't make you obese if you have a small amount.

It doesn’t, you clearly don’t understand the analogy.

My point was that doing something occasionally isn’t the same as doing it all the time or on a daily basis.

Yes. And?

Nothing about that necessarily adds up to an unhealthy diet.

Not all calories are the same and you're assuming all three meals are equalling the exact amount a child needs through the day.

An 80 calorie apple will do more good than harm.

I think it varies from day to day. We have 12 grandchildren and have seen most of them vary from no snacks at all to can I have a banana/biscuit/breadstick/apple/cheese string every 5 mins.

Got it, got it, dull child. Better luck next time.

But you're saying that toddlers dint need snacks.

Yet you give snacks.

Whether you give them every day or once a month it's still a snack. You clearly understand that snacks are needed.

Now why is it "wrong" to give a child a yogurt at 10am instead of 7am at breakfast?

Why don't you understand that it's the type of food that's the issue? A child eating a breakfast of Nutella on toast, a strawberry milkshake and a jam filled shelf stable brioche, and then a lunch of a take away pizza, mars bar and a bag of Doritos and dinner of turkey twizzlers, bob the builder pasta shapes and 8 potato smiles, followed by a chocolate yogurt might never snack. But will probably be at more risk of being obese than the child eating a breakfast of porridge, a snack of cheese, a lunch of pasta, a snack of cucumber, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes, and a dinner of turkey, peas, broccoli and boiled potatoes.

You're just thinking snacks are treats, but they aren't always. There is no difference in daily calories if you give a yogurt as part of a meal, or giving it 2 hours later. Except in the latter scenario, it would be called a snack.

😆 hope the therapy goes well x