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?

I’ve said, my thoughts weren’t about calories, more about the effect on metabolism etc by constantly feeding the stomach rather than having it in a cycle of eat/hunger.

It depends on the child. Mine was prem with a tiny stomach so had little and often milk feeds and the little and often theme carried over into food. For a long time she had three meals and three snacks a day in an attempt to get enough calories into her. She's primary age now and mostly just has one snack a day but we generally don't refuse a request unless it's within an hour of a mealtime. She's no longer underweight but is still very slight, to the point where we struggle to find bottoms that will stay up, etc.

@eurochick that’s quite an unusual scenario though and not really what I’m referring to - I’m referring to your ‘average’ child with no medical need

You talked about children getting fat from excess calories. And you're ignoring that some children can't eat enough food at each meal to keep them going all day. Children don't need to do intermittent fasting. Their metabolisms are fine. It doesn't harm them to eat regularly.

I had a look at my toddler's fist earlier, it's absolutely teeny. And that's the size (roughly) of his stomach. I'm not sure how a child of that age is meant to pack their calorie requirements into an internal container about the size of a plum in just three sittings. Fair enough if yours can, mine definitely can't!

But you’re wrong. You’ve just made it up. Snacking isn’t something that really affects metabolism. Diets, lack of sleep, hormones and stress amongst other things are the things that really fuck metabolism up.

I think you have food issues OP, it’s common in people that have disordered eating time want to justify their food choices.

It depends on the child and the snack and the context.

A parent who gives their child a small, healthy age-appropriately sized snack mid morning and mid afternoon is very different to the parent who carries around assorted crisps, sugary snacks, quick release rubbish and/or who uses food as a way to shut their kids up/distract them/as a bribe/to stop the child pestering for a biscuit.

What sort of food issues do you think I have, just to make me laugh?

I wouldn’t think an apple would have any negative effects. I see a lot of carby snacks though - bread sticks, crisps, rice cakes etc.

Pom bears?

There could well be Pom bears outside of meal times yes 😉

I don't think you understand nutrition. Your daughter's diet is full of carbs/sugar.

Breakfast - porridge with blueberries or chopped banana, or wholemeal toast with peanut butter or marmite and a yoghurt

Lunch - if she had porridge then usually a sandwich, like cheese and pickle, with a piece of fruit and packet of Pom bears. If she had toast then something like wholewheat pasta with tomato sauce and sweetcorn/peas and grated cheese.

Dinner - usually something pretty hearty like pie and mash with greens, chilli con carne, chicken and mushroom risotto, sometimes chicken and chips or similar with veg
Followed by fruit and yoghurt. Once a week or so she’ll have cake/ice cream or a proper ‘pudding’ like sticky toffee.

The only difference between a piece of fruit and pure sugar, is that you also get vitamins from fruit. They're both still sugar.

And does that reduce the carb content, if you eat them with meals?

Snacking is not necessary. More parents than ever obsess over what their children eat and yet we have more overweight and obese children than ever before.

She was within the normal centiles by toddler age (just always towards the lower end - she usually hovers around the 25th). Since then it has just been the way she eats. I'm also a little and often eater (and, fwiw, have never been overweight).

So how do you handle a 2 year old who is madly hangry at 11am..?

Nothing to do with snacking in of itself.

We've been snacking for CENTURIES

It's the prevalence of hyper processed salty sugary foods.

Give them lunch? If they're that hungry they need a "proper" meal.

But it all depends on their day, their naps etc

Eh? That bit in brackets ...... what does that mean?

Given I’ve addressed this a few times maybe you should RTFT

So, no. So it actually doesn’t matter if they eat Pom bears at 12 or at 3.

Like Pom bears.

The only difference between a piece of fruit and pure sugar, is that you also get vitamins from fruit. They're both still sugar.

Im a type 1 diabetic so my life relies on me understanding sugar, how it releases and in what quantities and from what foods.

Fruit (fructose) releases differently from the carbs you get in things like bread, rice crackers, bread sticks etc. White or refined carbs will cause short but drastic spikes whereas whole grains, oats etc will release less dramatically and over a long period of time.

So this ‘it’s all sugar’ is sort of a Daily mail headline which may be ‘technically’ true but also, really isn’t.

🥱 rtft for gods sake it’s getting boring

Ok, so you give them lunch at 11…

what do you do when they are hangry at 2pm? Give them supper?