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 have 2 DC who are now teens. DD has always been incredibly fussy and a difficult eater (and still is unbelievably fussy) she has always "grazed".DS on the other hand is more feast or famine. He's always eaten well at meals but could just as easily miss a meal and not notice. He never wanted a snack mid morning at school. Even now as a teen he rarely eats between meals. Neither are overweight

i think you’re quite lucky if you have a toddler who can cope on just 3 meals a day. Dd is nearly 2 and has breakfast 7.45, lunch 11-11.30 ( to match nursery schedule), snack at 3 after nap (usually crackers/cheese/fruit), dinner at 5-5.30. At nursery dinner is 3.30 so she has her snack when she gets home at 5.30 on her nursery days. She’s hungry for lunch at 11 and I can’t see how she could last 11.30 till 5 with no food. Maybe it’s easier once they’ve dropped their nap and lunch timing is a bit easier.

I agree with pp, I’d see fruit as a snack.

Some do some don't. Mine are 27,19 , 11 and 9 and none of them were really snackers as toddlers

My friends dc are similar ages , 26,14,12 and 9 . Her younger 2 snacked constantly as toddlers, I'm not sure if the older 2 were the same but none of her dc have weight problems and the younger 2 are less fussy than my younger 2

*24

I’m with you, OP, I was amazed when DD was little that we’d go to soft play for an hour and everyone was giving their kid a snack every half hour as if they’d faint without it! Inevitably then the same mums would be complaining that their kids didn’t eat well at mealtimes.

DD had three meals a day and didn’t ever ask for snacks and I didn’t carry them about - but she ate really well at mealtimes and didn’t seem to need anything in between. She’s tiny and thin and high energy/very active and always has been, but will put away an adult portion at mealtimes, no problem!

I never had snacks as a kid, and we just had our meals at mealtimes — I don’t ever remember feeling hungry unless it was in the last half an hour before teatime. And then we just had to wait!

My youngest is always hungry in the morning. She has a big breakfast, a morning snack and lunch.
She has a tiny amount at dinner.

It's just her. I don't think it's healthy to override her natural appetite.

NHS advises two snacks a day. At this age they are growing rapidly, have small stomachs and should be doing at least 3 hours of exercise at day.

We come from history of where people ate 3 meals a day which is really good for your blood sugar (historically we actually only had 1-2 meals a day, 3 meals happened Victorian times I believe)

this 3 meals plus 2 snacks bollocks has been introduced due to food companies deeming it best. But you’re not wrong OP.

everyone will argue with you though, because the nhs say it’s the right thing to continually shove food in, but it’s not.

Yes my slim (BMI lower end of normal) 2YO is going to become obese whilst simultaneously refusing all his proper meals because he has a banana mid morning and sometimes also a small yoghurt in the afternoon 🙄 His elder sister has also miraculously managed fine.

Just wondering if neolithic man ate 3 regular meals a day, ten's of thousands of years ago.... Or was 3 meals a day handed down by God?

How many DC do you have?

My first didn't need snacks, he was very much in the 3 square meals a day camp. Even as a baby, he would breastfeed for ages and then have a long gap between feeds. He refuses to take a snack to school for breaktime. My second is the opposite - little and often. Neither are overweight.

Everyone is different, even children 😱, and you are coming across as pretty judgemental.

All 3 of mine never stooped snacking, it didn’t mean they didn’t eat their main meals, but I never forced big meals on them either.

I think it depends. My youngest rarely snacked, still doesn't snack a lot at 11. But she breastfed the longest, well into toddlerhood. My second oldest sometimes had a small snack between meals, carrot sticks, banana, rice cake etc. He's started looking for snacks at times again as an active growing teen. The other two have always been occasional snack eaters but as pre schoolers would often have a mid morning snack, as we had an early breakfast and a later lunch at that time. But we've never done after school snack probably because they are home educated and the timing of a later mid day meal.

I think it's best to go with your child's natural preferences, just make sure that the snacks are healthy, and time them so there's time to get hungry for dinner. Constantly feeding cereal bars or fruit winders is obviously a bad idea but if it's a banana and a bit of cheese then I don't see the problem

Something else that is important, re snacking, is tooth health and mouth acid. The fewer snacks you eat the better for teeth - with only 3 meals, the mouth PH has time to return to normal in between; but snacking keeps the saliva sugary and acid, and leads to much more active bacteria in the mouth and more tooth decay.

Saliva composition and mouth health really matters for teeth during the time children are really small, and can significantly affect the health of future adult teeth, even when the children only have baby teeth.

It’s typically advised for young children to eat little and often, so actually 3 meals a day is less ideal than a couple of meals and a couple of small snacks.

Toddlers tummies are tiny so they need to eat little and often. My toddler has 4 meals a day and 2 snacks, same as when he is at nursery. He eats healthily and is a good weight.

Everyone is different. DS has snacks little and often as isn't a big eater otherwise (gets overwhelmed by a meal sized portion)

Mine has food based bribes as and when required

My kids had snacks as toddlers mainly to give them nutrients they might not have got from their meals. Snacks containing vitamins and minerals for kids are a good thing. Even the occasional unhealthy treat as kids helps children develop normal, healthy eating and socialising habits. Lots of healthy foods, occasional unhealthy foods, meals and snacks, all good.
3 meals and 2 snacks in the correct portions is a good way of ensuring people of all ages get the nutrients they need.

Whilst trying to find a nursery for my boys, lookkng around seeing their schedule etc to see if it would be a good fit it was always the case in all the nurseries I visited/researched that they would have a morning snack period and also an afternoon snack time if the child was there all day. I think this is a fairly normal and healthy routine as snacks that are offered are often fruit, crudités, water or milk. Even in primary school they have free flow snack in the class rooms whereby if a child is hungry they are allowed to help themselves to a piece of fruit. Don't know if this continues through the years but certainly in reception and Year 1 tust is the case.

My DS eats a solid breakfast, second breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, tea. He is a long, skinny, bottomless pit. Every child is different, don't be so judgy.

One of my children eats all 3 meals and many, many snacks but is slim because he burns it all off (where do they get the energy?)

my other eats most of his calories from snacks eg banana and milk or whole meal digestives or yogurts because he’s extremely fussy and never wants to eat at meals and I don’t subscribe to a “force them” mentality. He’s also slim, healthy and active.

i think judgment isn’t helpful, and I don’t think forcing is healthy.

as an aside, snacking is a godsend went you have children who won’t sit still or stay in their buggy etc. sometimes it’s all you have!

I had snacks growing up - I can't see the issue with them as long as you adjust meals accordingly.

My first would get snacks sometimes - I wouldn't generally offer, but would usually say yes if asked (which certainly wasn't twice a day).

My second, is below the 1st centile, is under the care of a dietician, has calorie supplemented drinks, drinks gold top milk, and gets offered 2 calorie dense snacks a day. My first gets offered snacks now too at the same time.

It really depends on the child.