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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

She ate all the biscuits

565 replies

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:24

I got a pack of chocolate chip cookies for today after dinner for everyone to have a few-Dd has a balanced diet but we don’t have a dessert or biscuits, crisps etc every night or in the house that often-more on weekends or if we bake something.
I hid the rest of the biscuits away for another day.
I went to have a shower, when Dd came up to bed, she told me she looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them.

Would you be cross? She’s 7

OP posts:
HDJH1234 · 20/03/2026 00:04

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 22:07

Is it odd she ate the pack? Could other kids not do that? She has plenty of food choices, is tall, slim and active…she just loves sweets, chocolates and crisps

Yes it is odd.

It is also odd that your H wasn't supervising her as she had enough time to search for the biscuits and eat them all behind his back. That must have taken a while, unless she rammed them in her mouth in seconds. He was wrong to leave her to her own devices in the kitchen

I would be furious with her for being so greedy, but also very concerned that she is binge-eating when after a evening meal she should be full still.

EEHHH · 20/03/2026 00:10

Maybe she was still hungry or maybe she just wanted a bit of junk food.
I could not begrudge a child wanting to eat.

ButlinsReward · 20/03/2026 00:11

My 7 year old would probably do this. The four year old less so, because they are smaller and have a smaller appetite. The 7yo seems to have hollow legs at the moment and being taller and cleverer than a year ago, would be proud of being able to reach higher up and search smarter to solve the mystery of the hidden biscuits.

I try not to buy too much and I get DC looking at the recommended portion size on the pack, so it's not just me claiming they've eaten enough, it's the biscuit bosses.

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:19

Happyjoe · 19/03/2026 23:46

Do 7 year olds gloat?

Yes, have you ever met one 😂

ThisSunnyBee · 20/03/2026 00:26

sploshsplash · 19/03/2026 21:34

Unfortunately I feel like this is the result of making treat food such a big deal.

Using the words "Treat food" is a big deal

Onelifeonly22 · 20/03/2026 00:27

I’m surprised by lots of these posts suggesting the OP has caused this! I really think some of us are just wired to find sweet stuff harder to resist. I have always struggled not to overeat sweet stuff and I would go searching in the cupboards. I even ate my mum’s nice gifted chocolates once and I was so well behaved in all other areas. I felt ashamed about it but compelled to eat them knowing they were there. I honestly don’t think my parents did anything wrong. We had sweet stuff pretty often, neither banned nor fetishised by my parents. I still am not someone who can have chocolates and biscuits in the house without finishing them off. I really really wish I was! I would address it in the moment if it happens again but very lightly and definitely don’t call her greedy as some have suggested! A teacher called me greedy once and it made me feel so ashamed for years.

Happyjoe · 20/03/2026 00:29

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:19

Yes, have you ever met one 😂

I was wondering the same of you 😂

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:32

Happyjoe · 20/03/2026 00:29

I was wondering the same of you 😂

Com on. Kids show all kinds of undesirable traits. It’s part of personality development, and they mostly grow out of it. I’ve had three kids and seen my fair share!! Doesn’t mean they’re a bad kid! It’s our job to teach them otherwise.

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:34

I actually remember “gloating” to my brother that I had sweets left and he had eaten all of this (I reckon I might have been a bit younger than 7 actually?). My mum overheard me and made me share. That taught me!!

Happyjoe · 20/03/2026 00:36

HDJH1234 · 20/03/2026 00:04

Yes it is odd.

It is also odd that your H wasn't supervising her as she had enough time to search for the biscuits and eat them all behind his back. That must have taken a while, unless she rammed them in her mouth in seconds. He was wrong to leave her to her own devices in the kitchen

I would be furious with her for being so greedy, but also very concerned that she is binge-eating when after a evening meal she should be full still.

It wasn't a whole pack. Which may explain that it probably didn't take long in your eyes!
A 7 year old shouldn't need to be supervised every waking hour in their own home surely?

You'd be furious with a 7 year old for eating the remaining biccies? Furious really? I'd hate to see what you'd be if a 7 year old did something more seriously wrong. Apoplectic? 7 year olds are still learning, they are not even teenagers yet and lord knows they still make a ton of mistakes. I find it odd that people forget children are children.

Happyjoe · 20/03/2026 00:40

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:34

I actually remember “gloating” to my brother that I had sweets left and he had eaten all of this (I reckon I might have been a bit younger than 7 actually?). My mum overheard me and made me share. That taught me!!

But the child didn't gloat? The OP said she told her later at night, presumed because the child knew what she did was wrong. Sounds like a confession, not a gloat.

Happyhappyday · 20/03/2026 00:40

Velumental · 19/03/2026 21:27

Not really. She's 7, left to her own devices and there were biscuits left out, she clearly didn't think it was off limits as she told you about it. If shed sneaked them and said nothing I might be concerned. You say she came up to bed like she was just wandering round by herself and appeared upstairs not like she was brought up to bed.

But she did sneak them. OP said they were hidden away. I would be cross but DC (same age) know that sweets are special occasions and also that sneaking is absolutely not acceptable.

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:42

Happyjoe · 20/03/2026 00:40

But the child didn't gloat? The OP said she told her later at night, presumed because the child knew what she did was wrong. Sounds like a confession, not a gloat.

“Looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them all”
Guess I’ve interpreted this differently to you. Only the OP knows I guess, perhaps she will clarify.

Happyhappyday · 20/03/2026 00:45

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:57

She probably came to tell me as she knew she shouldn’t have. I don’t know…is it so strange for a child to want to eat chocolate chip biscuits and to be massively tempted? Probably not

Not strange to be tempted but I’d say unusual to eat anything junk if it’s not hidden. We had a TON of crap food around growing up but were not allowed it that often and I literally never would have gone into the drawer and taken it without asking. My DC has a drawer full of candy but literally would never take a piece without asking and she gets desserts less than once a week. She rarely even asks for it.

Happyjoe · 20/03/2026 00:46

Aquarius91 · 20/03/2026 00:42

“Looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them all”
Guess I’ve interpreted this differently to you. Only the OP knows I guess, perhaps she will clarify.

She probably came to tell me as she knew she shouldn’t have.

Didn't sound like a gloat? Apologies if I missed a post, but this is what I read and was referring to.

Runningtokeepstilll · 20/03/2026 00:50

IdentityCris · 19/03/2026 23:23

I would be concerned about the fact that she went looking for the sweets. She must be well aware that she isn't allowed them, so she's chosen to disobey you deliberately. I would also be cross that she at the whole packet, because that's selfish as it leaves none for anyone else.

I agree that it was selfish and greedy. If parents let their children behave like this without correcting them then they shouldn’t be surprised to end up with selfish, greedy children

Fentons · 20/03/2026 00:56

Is she a big girl? if so I would be unhappy with that, I used to eat packs of biscuits as a kid, but I was always slim, unfortunately I couldn't stay slim getting older and struggled with impulse control, because there was undiagnosed nd going on, dopamine seeking too came into it, along with alcohol problems, later on, because I couldn't stop at one. Perhaps look a bit closer as to why she's seeking out food to effectively binge eat.

RandomisedRebel · 20/03/2026 01:15

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:24

I got a pack of chocolate chip cookies for today after dinner for everyone to have a few-Dd has a balanced diet but we don’t have a dessert or biscuits, crisps etc every night or in the house that often-more on weekends or if we bake something.
I hid the rest of the biscuits away for another day.
I went to have a shower, when Dd came up to bed, she told me she looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them.

Would you be cross? She’s 7

We've all been there and munched an entire pack of biscuits when we really shouldn't. Use it as a teaching moment, kindly. Don't make her feel greedy, or guilty, just explain why eating an entire pack isn't good for you. I'm the worst for little snackcidents and I'm in my late 40's 🤣

DickieAnderson · 20/03/2026 01:34

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 22:26

Yes but mine wouldn’t! This is the point, her diet isn’t restricted, it’s healthy and balanced it’s just she loves all that stuff, so to leave three packs around would mean they’d be gone pretty quickly, hence me not doing it every night. We have what we fancy and nothing is off limits but I don’t tend to buy any crisps, biscuits and sweets as part of the weekly shop-should I be? Really questioning if I’m doing this wrong

Some kids are just greedy OP and ignore people telling you that it’s your fault for being too restrictive with food, some people are just desperate to argue or blame the OP on these threads.

I think your approach is completely normal and better then having junk food everywhere and dessert every night - especially with a child who is so food focused.

So many people commenting are acting like it’s unusual for a child to be seeking out food but lots of people are like this and struggle with self control - look around at how many people are on weight loss injections because they struggle with the willpower to restrict what they eat.
I’m not trying to criticise anyone who is using WLI as I have had my own struggles with food, I’m just pointing out it’s not uncommon for some people to love food more than others and I think most people would prefer chocolate biscuits to a raw carrot!

I do think it’s a little concerning and you need to try to discourage the behaviour and I liked the idea of giving your DD a treat box to learn to ration herself and have self control because it’s an important skill to have. I’d give her a box with a few snacks for the week (call them snacks not treats) and when they are gone they are gone.

I was a greedy child and our house was full of treats, I used to eat and eat and my parents were too scared to be too restrictive in case I had an unhealthy attitude to food.
I ended up being bullied about my weight and it led to years of bulimia.

It’s best to have everything in moderation which it sounds like you do.
Having too much lying around for a child who can’t restrict themselves and will go hunting for treats is a bad approach, so is limiting things completely so it becomes more tempting.

I think you have the situation spot on buying small amounts of treat food and making sure your DD doesn’t have access to scoff the lot in one go. Hopefully as she gets older she will learn to limit herself naturally.

I think pp had good suggestions about focusing on the fact your DD helped herself and took something that was supposed to be shared and conversations should be had about sharing rather than what she’s eaten, I’d be making sure she knows to ask before helping herself otherwise it’s naughty behaviour.
I’d maybe try buying a few things and seeing if she listens and shows self control or trying the snack boxes, If she doesn’t you might need to just limit having too much in the house (or hiding it better!) for now.

I think it’s silly some people have commented to make you worry there is something wrong with your DD or she has issues that need fixing, it seems to be a common thing on here that some people think there are underlying reasons for all behaviours or something needs diagnosing. It’s not helpful and it’s often not that deep and just normal childhood behaviour and a 7 year old wanting to eat biscuits is hardly uncommon.
It definitely doesn’t suggest something as serious as Prader Willi syndrome as pp have suggested. That’s a serious genetic disorder and would have been picked up on based on other symptoms, it gets suggested far too often on here for children who just enjoy their food!

Sladuf1 · 20/03/2026 01:49

I think you should make a point over the next few days of calling her the Cookie Monster and saying, “cookie, me want cookie,” at her.

Stressedoutmummyof3 · 20/03/2026 01:53

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 22:07

Is it odd she ate the pack? Could other kids not do that? She has plenty of food choices, is tall, slim and active…she just loves sweets, chocolates and crisps

She didn't eat a whole packet though. If you all had some after dinner it was the remainder of the packet. I know quite a few children who'd have no issue eating that much.
I would be cross because they were supposed to be for the whole family not just her and I assume she did know that.
I don't make my children ask if they can have a snack (my eldest two are teenagers now though) but I would have done if I thought they were going to eat a whole packet of something.
I guess you'll have to hide them and insist she asks for permission to snack. Or tell her if she's still hungry she can have fruit

Rhubarb24 · 20/03/2026 01:56

Velumental · 19/03/2026 21:27

Not really. She's 7, left to her own devices and there were biscuits left out, she clearly didn't think it was off limits as she told you about it. If shed sneaked them and said nothing I might be concerned. You say she came up to bed like she was just wandering round by herself and appeared upstairs not like she was brought up to bed.

It clearly says that they were hidden and not left out.

Anotherlindor · 20/03/2026 02:00

I think you need to reassess your own attitude towards food. Your poor DD sounds like she is developing some issues here. Scavenging for foods that are seen as forbidden fruits and a mum who is clearly angry about it.

Strawberrryfields · 20/03/2026 02:31

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:24

I got a pack of chocolate chip cookies for today after dinner for everyone to have a few-Dd has a balanced diet but we don’t have a dessert or biscuits, crisps etc every night or in the house that often-more on weekends or if we bake something.
I hid the rest of the biscuits away for another day.
I went to have a shower, when Dd came up to bed, she told me she looked everywhere for them, found them and ate them.

Would you be cross? She’s 7

How many were actually in the packet? A pack of Foxes cookies you get about 8, Maryland ones maybe 20? Is there 3 of you in the house? You said you let everyone have a few - how many more has she gone back and eaten to finish the packet? Another 10 biscuits? Or 2 biscuits?

LameBorzoi · 20/03/2026 02:47

I'd be annoyed (and tell her so) because it meant that there wasn't any left for anyone else, and that's rude. I'd say that it was good to own up to it, though.

I disagree that it has to be a scarcity thing. Some kids are sweet tooths, and it needs to have some limits or they won't eat anything else. Others just aren't as interested.

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