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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I do not understand snacks

392 replies

Yellowdaffodila · 27/03/2023 10:52

So I'm not from the UK and I hear and read about the snack thing all the time.
What is a snack? When I take my children out I'm asked to bring snacks. They will be home for food after our trip. They eat breakfast. Why a snack?

OP posts:
FlemishHorse · 27/03/2023 11:37

Definitely touched a MN nerve here 😂

BaseballCrazy · 27/03/2023 11:38

BrightYellowDaffodil · 27/03/2023 11:36

And your point is? Report my post if you want and let MN see if I'm in any way linked to the OP ( as a hint for the hard of thinking - I'm not). I've been here years under the same user name.

Show quote history

Just an observation.

Xiaoxiong · 27/03/2023 11:38

Sri Lanka has wonderful snacks! I love pakodas, fried chickpeas, murukku, mutton rolls, patties, urad dal vadai...

BarrelOfOtters · 27/03/2023 11:39

A lot of kids when out all morning on an activity will stop for a drink and a treat. It's probably not completely necessary but it's a way of giving them a break and them eating something you know they will like.

You are getting some very harsh replies and I don't really know why.

takealettermsjones · 27/03/2023 11:39

BrightYellowDaffodil · 27/03/2023 11:36

And your point is? Report my post if you want and let MN see if I'm in any way linked to the OP ( as a hint for the hard of thinking - I'm not). I've been here years under the same user name.

Show quote history

You sound angry. Maybe you need a snack

WeWereInParis · 27/03/2023 11:39

Hobert · 27/03/2023 11:22

The people I know who need to eat between meals are generally slim. DH is BMI 18.5 and starts to feel wibbly if he doesn't get something mid morning, DS is the same and so is my best mate who is very slender. I am pretty chunky (hanging into the healthy range by tips of fingers!) and can easily skip a meal or two and feel fine.

Yes I get like this. I was getting very faint and shaky/dizzy and was referred to an endocrinologist. A blood sugar monitor confirmed my blood sugar drops below normal levels a few hours after a meal and the consultant said it was reactive hypoglycaemia, probably because I'm a underweight. His suggested treatment was fewer carbs (or fewer simple carbs anyway), more protein, and eating little and often. So I snack.

Upsywavy · 27/03/2023 11:40

Faux naievity is obvious.

Frabbits · 27/03/2023 11:40

vivainsomnia · 27/03/2023 11:32

Ah, so I'm just imagining I'm hungry between main meals then? I don't like eating 3 big meals and then nothing in between, I prefer to have a smaller breakfast/lunch and snack in between
I didn't say that it was always wrong. I'm on the extreme of snacking but managing to be healthy as I monitor what I snack on and exercise a lot.

But it is a choice, not an actual need, and whereas a minority do manage to snack healthily, too many people eat normal meals, plus snack 2 or 3 times a day on the most unhealthy options. It's really not a good habit to give kids if it can be avoided.

Yeah, it is a choice to eat smaller meals but it then becomes a need to snack in between. Plenty of science to suggest that's a better way to fuel.

The problem is eating too much, not how many times you eat during a day.

MLMsuperfan · 27/03/2023 11:40

Hello, I am an android. What are your human 'snacks'? Do humans need to continually ingest nutrients throughout the day? How can I become a real boy.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 27/03/2023 11:40

takealettermsjones · 27/03/2023 11:39

You sound angry. Maybe you need a snack

Show quote history

Nah, just annoyance at those who seem to struggle with basic reading comprehension Smile

Xiaoxiong · 27/03/2023 11:41

Also one of my favourite mix is from sri lanka with fried curry leaves, peanuts and fennel seeds.

ImSoShiney · 27/03/2023 11:41

I like cake

In vast quantities

I'm not fat

EssexMamisoa · 27/03/2023 11:42

I’m a snackaholic and I’ve always been very slim. My mum said I’ve always been a snacker, even back when she was BFing me - little and often she said I wanted my milk!

Luckygreenduck · 27/03/2023 11:42

I do get what you mean. I am surprised how often people give children snacks but if they want them and it works why not?

helpfulperson · 27/03/2023 11:42

Why does mumsnet have such a hard time understanding that other countries or cultures do things differently. Its fairly obvious you don't mean you don't understand what a snack is but you mean why do we snack so frequently?

It is a fairly recent phenomenon to the extent it happens now. In the 70's we maybe had a snack after swimming but not everyday after school or every time we went to the park.

I think it's tied in with parents wanting to be their child's friend so they give them what they want.

butterfliedtwo · 27/03/2023 11:43

Sparklesocks · 27/03/2023 11:06

The world must seem overwhelming if such concepts are so mind blowing to you!

Exactly this.

On another note, undereating doesn't make anyone automatically a better human being.

ImSoShiney · 27/03/2023 11:43

MLMsuperfan · 27/03/2023 11:40

Hello, I am an android. What are your human 'snacks'? Do humans need to continually ingest nutrients throughout the day? How can I become a real boy.

Are you sure you don't want to be a woman? That's more in line with current trends.....🤣

BillyNoM8s · 27/03/2023 11:44

Yellowdaffodila · 27/03/2023 11:33

So to explain myself further I am from Sri Lanka. We do feed at school of course. Children get milk and then they eat together at the lunch stop.
They come home and after chores we eat with my husband at 7pm. My children do eat but maybe different. We eat a rice or oat breakfast but not crisp or sweets.
I hope that explains. We would not eat if not our meal.

Many children would chew their arm off if they had to go from school lunch to 7pm, unless they're particulalry well fed during the day.

Maybe your breakfasts and lunches are huge/filling.

It's usual to have fruit/yoghurt/cheese/raisins or something as a snack if waiting a long while til dinner.

If your kids are happy and healthy though, there's no issue.

It feels like you're making a subtle dig at how fat and greedy Brits are. I mean many are fat and greedy (and many aren't), but if that's what you want to say, then just say that.

HyggeTygge · 27/03/2023 11:44

The government give guidance on feeding your child when you have a baby.

There is a lot of emphasis in that on snacks when weaning. Usually stuff like fruit or a rice cake, bread sticks etc - presumably to increase the variety of food they are offered. For me this is where 'thinking about snacks' has come from.

My primary age kids get a snack on the way home from school, partly because it's a while until evening meal and I don't know how much lunch they have eaten. If they've had swimming they are starving and get grumpy.

Teder · 27/03/2023 11:44

It’s better for you to eat smaller meals/snacks throughout the day. I would feel sluggish and uncomfortable eating 3 meals a day and nothing in between. I prefer to eat less split into more meals.

ATerrorofLeftovers · 27/03/2023 11:46

vivainsomnia · 27/03/2023 11:10

Look OP, put simply, some people - and especially kids - need to eat more often than the typical 5ish hours between meals
No they don't. It's a habit brought from kids asking for them because they know they exist and parents reading this as a need rather than a want.

They are a major contributor to the obesity crisis.

It can be because parents are fully present with their child and attuned to their needs and moods. Those children who get tearful, grumpy, clumsy etc, and then perk right up after a snack? They had low blood sugar. The snack was needed to level it out and avoid an accident or a tantrum.

Some children get low blood sugar if there's too big a gap between meals and need a snack. They don't necessarily then eat the same sized meal as if they hadn't had the snack. Other kids can easily go without snacks, because their metabolism is a bit different. Because we're people, not robots, and not everyone's the same.

Not sure what evidence you have to prove a causal link between snacks and obesity. It depends very much on what you eat. A diet high in UPFs is likely to contribute to obesity. A few carrot sticks or an oatcake with hummus between meals? Not so much.

TheOrigRights · 27/03/2023 11:46

I found this on the web:

*What is the most popular snack in Sri Lanka?

Murukku is a crunchy snack popular in southern India, and Sri Lanka. Murukku's name derives from the Tamil word for "twisted” referring to its iconic spiral shape. Made from fried urad dal, you must try these crunchy, curry flavoured snacks.*

I haven't been to Sri Lanka, but have travelling around India and Nepal. On trains and busses and in cafes the people all around me would be eating peanuts, fruit, crisps, samosas.

The snacking culture seemed the same as it is in the UK.

faffadoodledo · 27/03/2023 11:46

I think it's quite cultural. I remember living in the US, and snack time for pre schoolers was a thing. I carried snacks everywhere. When we moved back it definitely wasn't such a big thing. But that was 20 years ago, and we may well have converged somewhat!

ProbablyNotAGoodIdea · 27/03/2023 11:46

My mum didn't understand snacks (obviously she did, but didn't approve of them!) so was very strict about not eating between meals. All very well intentioned, borne of love and concern. It worked great for my sister, instilling a sense of discipline and moderation around food and enjoyment of meals and delayed gratification. For me, it sparked secretive binge eating, self loathing and disordered attitudes to food that kept my weight yo-yoing from healthy to overweight to obese up and down for my whole life so far. Amazingly enough, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work

mamnotmum · 27/03/2023 11:47

Also don't get it. We don't do snacks in our house.

Kids have breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. And if they want supper. I feel like I'm
Constantly feeding them - defo don't need to add any more feeding times in!