To find the obsession with snacks weird

[yipyipyop]

I've noticed in recent years lots parents seem to think their children can't survive a few minutes without a snack. We live a 5 min walk from school so I don't but parents with a similar commute seem to have a bag full of snacks they're handing out. It just seems over the top

Not as a 50 yr old, surely?

@DogMaths

it is. I’m gonna go and wrench it from their hand whilst telling them it’s a meal not a snack

We didn't "snack" as they do these days, but we definitely ate between meals. Mum would make teacakes, and we'd toast and eat them, definitely outside of meal times. We definitely got given a bit of cake and lemonade from our Gran that wasn't part of a meal.

She's 70 and would talk about eating fried potatoes and playing cards with her brother's and da, until late at night, there's also definitely photos of her with her mum, auntie and cousins having tea and biscuits, they're all lined up holding their biscuits over the cups 😁😁

Maybe it's the regular snacking as part of the day that didn't occur? I can't recall having food between meals every day, that's for certain. Bit we definitely did do it.

Guess every family is different. I was often hungry but certainly not malnourished in fact, struggled to lose weight later.

I don't have DC, but if I had I wouldn't have encouraged them to snack unless they wouldn't have been eating again for a while. I think the adult obsession with snacking is out of hand these days tbh, never mind kids. Crisps, Pringles, Doritos, flapjacks... oh and the most pointless snack of all, bloody Snack-a-Jacks aka flavoured air. I don't get it.

I used to go for weekends away with a friend and she was always obsessed with getting 'snacks for the room' to the point where it was irritating. I mean, one or two things to peck at is nice, but she'd want us to get umpteen different things. I don't get that either. It'd be hypocritical for me to comment on the obesity crisis as I have to watch my own weight, but I can't say I've ever been especially tempted by Doritos or Mr Kipling French bloody Fancies, that's not the issue. It just felt superfluous. But then the general cultural obsession with food and eating sometimes irritates me too. I know I sound like a misery guts which I'm not, it just doesn't interest me much.

I'm in my 50s and I do remember there being a tuck shop at playtime, but I don't remember there being the same focus on snacks that there is now. I didn't get a snack after school as a matter of course. I was given one if I asked, but it wasn't specifically offered.

I do remember supper though, which in our house was something like a toasted tea cake before bed. Yes, I'm northern. 😄

Absolutely! Also the expected 'pudding' after every meal. Back in the day previous century we had a snack and drink at breaks and lunch, then went home to have drinks, not pop as that was a treat, as with desserts, weekend only.

Yup, advertising and social 'norms' have paved the way for overeating, fast food etc. X

They do get afternoon breaks so barely an hour or two and a 5 minute drive? Whatever works for you but you've set the expectation of food immediately after school, which is mid afternoon. 🤔

Ours don’t get food at afternoon break, just 10 mins playing outside. In fact after year 1 they don’t get an afternoon break.

When hoardes of kids go to the supermarket after school, on way home within walking distance. Just something we didn't used to do, didn't even cross our minds. X

urs don't get food in the second break.

My daughter said she ate 2 slice of carrot, a few bits of pasta and half a biscuit for her lunch then other day, lunch is at 11.45. she'd had a small apple at first break, her breakfast was 2 eggs, slice of toast, melon and a mug of milk.

So yeh, she's hungry at 3:15, she's been running round, playing, learning in that time, and the 25 mins walk home (via a 30+ minutes play in the playground with other kids) is much nicer all round if she's eating a cheese roll and an apple on the way, rather than forcing her to wait until 6:30pm for dinner, just because some idiot in the internet can't imagine a world where people are different with different lives and needs and metabolisms to themselves!

Isn’t this a case of you do you but don’t judge others ie the mumsnet 11th commandment?

my DC is a teen and is still hungry when back from school. Lots of reason didn’t eat lunch being main one for a number of reasons, At primary, same but different reasons for lunch not being eaten.

And before the people jump in and say tough in my day blah blah. Well in my day I was beaten by a belt (parents), beaten with ruler (teacher), starved for two whole days because I refused to eat liver (it doesn’t get any more appetising). I think as a society we can agree we have moved on as to how we treat children (with a thankfully few horrific exceptions)?

Children have growing bodies so they need more calories than adults. School is tiring. What’s it to you whether they live 5 mins away or 15? Why distress a tired child for the sake of grabbing a snack or drink? And other than trying to start a debate on MN WHAT’s IT GOT TO DO WITH YOU?

Exactly - drinking water more regularly is good for us. It’s bizarre that some people are always criticising the very healthy habit of carrying water with us - sometimes habits improve rather than declining!

Re kids after school, a lot of kids can really benefit from a quick protein hit straight after school. Can stop a potential meltdown in its tracks.

They also have much smaller stomachs, which means it’s harder for them to ‘fill up’ enough at a mealtime to last them 5ish hours until the next mealtime.

But may I surmise you may have had a SAHM who cooked ‘tea’ (not dinner) early. Most parents don’t eat till 6ish (waiting for t’other to arrive home). Commuting is a pain. Where I grew up that would mean 15-20 min car drive. Now it’s 60 mins plus.

And decades ago we were all largely poorer- food would be restricted. But even as a low income family toast when you got in from school was expected. Packet of crisps at morning break too. I think everyone who is saying ‘we had no snacks in my day’ are the abnormal ones/ exceptions. If you follow GI diet / govt guidelines (healthy) snacking is promoted to even out blood sugars. So why are the MN warriors here being absolute that their experience is good and by default all others are bad?

Really? Sorry my assumption wasn't correct. Kids will definitely be hungry by home time then, ravenous! Our DC have snacks at afternoon break/before leaving but don't eat them because they are anti fruit! 😤

When I was growing up in the eighties there were no snacks and me and my sister were hungry a lot of the time. And we were thirsty too! We weren't poor, it was just normal. I now think snacks are great. As an adult I eat snacks during the day, plus normal meals and I am healthy and slim. So there's no problem with snacks or water bottles. I wish we'd been given enough food and water when we were children.

It seems to me that people are terrified of even being a bit peckish. I’m not suggesting we should be ravenous, or let our kids be ravenous. But it’s perfectly fine to feel a bit peckish without having to head it off with a snack before it’s even appeared.

Yes I agree that they do do need good sustenance. It's a shame when they don't eat the full lunch time meal to keep them going so will clearly be hungry, also afternoon snacks and drink should be available. Xxx

My 5 y/o announces she’s STARVING at the first sight of me everyday after school. Sometimes I cba with the moaning so I bring some fruit or something as I think the portion sizes for lunch aren’t quite enough. What’s the big deal?

I too don't like the whole snack obsession, or the needing water constantly.

If they’re eating it as a snack, then it’s a snack for that person. I know lots of teens and men who would eat a pizza as a snack, then happily eat their dinner an hour later.

Why could you have an issue with people wanting to drink water? It's so strange that this would bother you. It's not bad for you, there's no price (to tap water at least). What is the problem with others having a water bottle with them?

I grew up the 90s/early 00s going to a private school with very strict rules about eating and drinking during class, and used to sit driving my fist into my stomach in late morning class to stop it loudly rumbling! (Doesn’t work, incidentally). The school had a tuck bar and chocolate vending machines and all kinds of things Jamie Oliver would shudder at etc, you just didn’t have time to access them until set times of day. I remember once my primary school introduced “being allowed to bring a water bottle to class” as a trial for a week, and it was a huge novelty.

When not being prevented by an institution, I’ve always snacked - and not even healthy snacks - and been pretty lanky. I’m sure there are wider societal trends etc, but it doesn’t seem particularly out there that different people have different metabolisms and eating patterns, and always have.

My DD has a snack for the 5 minute walk home. She's autistic and gets hangry and I've found through bitter experience that the walk is much smoother if she has something to eat. My DS prefers to wait til he gets home. Everyone has their reasons.