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?

Eating disorders don’t even touch the sides of the obesity crisis in terms of numbers so that’s an unfounded worry.

@DarkForces yeah I know. Its almost as if thinking and raising children as if that's the 'ideal' or only build children can naturally be is damaging, or something 🤔

Agree! Also wondering exactly how old OP's child is and whether she's about to hit the beige drop-off 😂

But according to OP If her child eats the pombears at 12:15 instead of 3pm, then her child won't be obese, but YOURS WILL because those calories were consumed at a different time to hers.*

😂😂😂

I will take snacks if I'm out and about as it saves a tantrum sometimes. She doesn't snack much when just at home, maybe a biscuit here and there or some raisins.

Probably not but it keeps them quiet

Absolute classic wind up of a thread, been done many times before

My toddler snacks way too much. But he’s very active and aside from these last few weeks over Christmas, he generally has a very healthy balanced diet. So I don’t worry about it too much!

i think it’s got worse since he got pickier with dinner as he’s not eating as much protein so I’m trying to get better with meals and cut down on the snacks. Tricky though when you’re out with others who have loads of them!

Everyone is meant to have snacks throughout the day. I'm recovering from an ED and the advice was everyone should eat 3 snacks a day + 3 meals

My toddlers always had snacks and now their older ( 6 & 7 they still do ) They give kids snacks at school too

On an average day this is what my healthy normal sized 6 year old has

7:30am - Breakfast at home
8:45am - School Bagel
10:30am - School milk & toast
12:00pm - School dinner
2:00pm - School fruit
4:00pm - Snack at home
6:00pm - Tea at home
8:00pm - Supper at home

He eats more than I do in a day and is a healthy average sized child. I'm all for giving kids snacks

Eating disorders don’t even touch the sides of the obesity crisis in terms of numbers so that’s an unfounded worry.

Obesity is usually caused by an eating disorder though.
It’s very rare that it’s caused by a medical problem.

It’s disordered eating whether it’s way too much or not enough and is usually combined with a MH issue.

What a lovely mum shaming thread

I asked about this because DGS was being offered snacks when we were out for the day and I was told that the advice now is to offer a snack in the morning and one in the afternoon. Fair enough I suppose, if they want it

However, I had a look on the NHS website and it was clear that what they were suggesting was quite a long way from the crisps and sugar-laden snacks that DGS was being offered. Further investigation suggests there may be an issue with the way snack foods are marketed to parents.

His DF is overweight and his DM is morbidly obese and I am afraid that they are sowing the seeds for DGS to be overweight too, once he stops running round all the time and starts playing computer games instead.

I think the majority of toddlers probably do need snacks. If you take my LO’s nursery for example, they do breakfast at 8, lunch at 12 and dinner at 4:30, all proper meals. And then they have a snack at 10am and 2.30pm, usually fruit or a biscuit. If most kids didn’t eat or want the snack I’m sure they wouldn’t bother

The number of times a child eats isn't what matters. It's what they eat that matters. If your child can get all their calories and nutrition from three meals, and that be enough to maintain their energy requirements throughout the day, then that's fine. But other children might not eat enough in those three meals, or they might be more active than your child is. They will then need to eat more often or have a snack to boost their energy. It has nothing to do with why children are fat. A child can become fat from eating only two times a day if those two meals are more calories than required.

My Ds definitely needs snacks.
I think they eat little and often

This for us too
I try something healthy both times but afternoon is more likely sweet.

You should see some of this posters other threads. 🤭

*posts

Finally, my kind of parent!! 😆

DS doesn't eat enough at meals to put him on long enough to only eat 3 times a day. He never has though. Even as a baby just on milk he didn't manage 4oz till he was like 8 months.

I don't buy into the idea that my 1yo is able to refuse the food I put in front of him to manipulate me into giving him something nicer in 2hrs time. He's just learnt to hide things behind his back. I think that's pretty impressive problem solving/forward thinking/manipulation for his age.

There’s definitely some magical thinking going on in the head of the OP:

Packet of Pom bears eaten at lunchtime straight after a sandwich = good

Packet of Pom bears eaten at 3pm as a snack = awful, bad parenting, root cause of obesity crisis etc

All my son eats are snacks . He has his head in the fridge or press all day 🤣 😂

It's much healthier for toddlers (and all people actually, but especially those with tiny tummies) to eat little and often, rather than 3 big meals which stretch their tummies. That's actually more likely to contribute to obesity in the long term. Same reason it's better to feed a baby lots of smaller bottles of milk more frequently than a few big bottles. There's lots of research on that. Snacks don't have to be unhealthy. Toast, crudités, cheese, yoghurts etc. mid-morning do not contribute to childhood obesity.

Three meals a day is a societal construct. I very much doubt our hunter-gatherer ancestors were strict about food timing, little and often would have made more sense for maintaining energy levels anyway.

Snacking as a way of eating makes more sense to me as an adult than meals do, so why not a toddler?

There’s a lot of evidence to dispute the ‘little and often’ thing:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-it-better-to-eat-several-small-meals-or-fewer-larger-ones#Meal-frequency-and-weight-loss