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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:
bafta16 · 21/03/2026 20:17

I wonder how this level of control will work further down the line.

Cakeandcardio · 21/03/2026 20:19

Craving chocolate in more quantities than a small treat is a sign the diet is deficient in protein so maybe look at that.

bafta16 · 21/03/2026 20:19

Cakegold · 21/03/2026 19:22

Very angry ? Over a packet of biscuits that a 7 yr old ate ? Wow !

Not just any 7 year old. An ADHD ,Prada Willi, suspected dyslexia,non compliant behaviour syndrome 7 year old.

Anibanani · 21/03/2026 20:22

I feel that many people are making an issue of the fact you said you don’t normally have biscuits during the week, which to me isn’t the issue here. I think it’s a big stretch to say you are causing eating issues because treats are not freely available and I don’t think that’s being fair to you. You’re helping your child develop healthy eating habits and bingeing on treats is unhealthy.
I think it’s good to keep biscuits, crisps etc as a limited treat food and from what you’ve said, she does get treats, just not all the time. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be treats. Children in the main don’t regulate their diets and treats need to be limited in quantity by the adults. I would also expect my children not to eat all the biscuits in one go because they know they are for all the family to share. My children had free access to the fruit bowl but I gave any sweet/junk foods out in limited amounts and the children had to ask for those if they weren’t given to them. Otherwise, the treat foods would disappear almost as soon as they came into the house. I wasn’t able to leave them out in the cupboard precisely because someone would have eaten them all.
If she knew she wasn’t supposed to eat all the biscuits, then I would be cross with her because it was naughty and the other children would miss out as a result.

JaneyDC · 21/03/2026 20:22

I think you need to address your family's eating habits before you have a binge eating daughter on your hands. She clearly craves treats and as you allow her to eat them so sparingly, she can't control herself when she knows they are around. I'd loosen the strict rules. It has been widely found that enforcing eating habits by restricting treats etc can cause some people to go completely OTT when they access these foods later in life.

My son (7) is allowed a small amount of either biscuits, crisps, cakes or sweets etc most days but he absolutely wouldn't ever take them and scoff the lot. We believe in balance. A small treat alongside healthy, home cooked food.

Anibanani · 21/03/2026 20:23

bafta16 · 21/03/2026 20:17

I wonder how this level of control will work further down the line.

What level of control? Not allowing a seven year old to eat the best part of a packet of biscuits in one go? That’s sensible parenting, not control.

Runningtokeepstilll · 21/03/2026 20:24

bafta16 · 21/03/2026 20:19

Not just any 7 year old. An ADHD ,Prada Willi, suspected dyslexia,non compliant behaviour syndrome 7 year old.

Don’t forget the eating disorder!

Anibanani · 21/03/2026 20:27

JaneyDC · 21/03/2026 20:22

I think you need to address your family's eating habits before you have a binge eating daughter on your hands. She clearly craves treats and as you allow her to eat them so sparingly, she can't control herself when she knows they are around. I'd loosen the strict rules. It has been widely found that enforcing eating habits by restricting treats etc can cause some people to go completely OTT when they access these foods later in life.

My son (7) is allowed a small amount of either biscuits, crisps, cakes or sweets etc most days but he absolutely wouldn't ever take them and scoff the lot. We believe in balance. A small treat alongside healthy, home cooked food.

Surely that’s exactly what the OP is doing, isn’t it? I read it that she only gives junk foods in moderation. She’s not saying the child doesn’t get them.

Anibanani · 21/03/2026 20:28

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:39

She has things when out at the cafe, her dad brings something home on a Friday night, we bake and have things at the weekend, she gets something if we go food shopping. Treats haven’t been made a big deal of or an issue, I just can’t get any and leave them casually out or in the cupboard as she eats them all 😬

Sounds very sensible to me.

SadTimesInFife · 21/03/2026 20:29

Imissmusic · 21/03/2026 15:48

I don’t know why she can’t control herself 😔

So, finally, this is the question you must answer.

Teach her that no means no.

Haddit · 21/03/2026 20:30

Why do you not give her biscuits? I don’t mean excessively, but clearly she knows that she best eat them now as they’re not available that often. Everything in moderation is healthy. You are teaching her that biscuits are bad and need hidden. That is not healthy

ThisDandyWriter · 21/03/2026 20:30

Yes I would be.
none of my children are allowed to help themselves to food without asking and I would be very cross if they purposely tried to find something and then ate them all. That’s really greedy and thoughtless to other people.

but we do have treats fairly regularly (kingside a really healthy diet), and perhaps because of that, this just wouldn’t happen in my house. They aren’t really that bothered about chocolate etc and we end up throwing Easter eggs away.

Anibanani · 21/03/2026 20:34

SanctusInDistress · 20/03/2026 20:24

Buy the biscuits more often. Shes a child. She needs biscuits! The more of a rarity you treat them, the more she will crave them.

Children don’t “need” biscuits. They’re a “nice to have occasionally as a treat” food. Children need a balanced diet with occasional treats, just like adults.

ProudWomanXX · 21/03/2026 20:40

It got to the point with our DD, that from her aged 6, we had to put a proper padlock on a double kitchen cupboard and lock away all the sweet stuff, biscuits, chocolate etc including packets of sugar, dried fruit and chocolate (all for baking)

DD has hf Autism and ADHD. She still buys copious amounts of sweet stuff and despite our best efforts during her childhood with regular dentist treatment, her teeth are dreadful and she's borderline Type 2 diabetic.

We also ensured she had a proper, lots home grown, cooked from scratch, healthy mixed diet growing up (yes, with some sweet stuff!)

but once she left home and was a student she just. ate total junk

She's 28 now.

IfYouNeedMeAskYourFather · 21/03/2026 20:49

In my opinion your reaction seems over the top. To me you’re making a mountain out of a mole hill. She’s just 7, she just needs to be educated on making healthy choices.

Mazza4533 · 21/03/2026 20:54

I'd be cross, especially if this wasn't the first time. What is dh doing that dd can go searching for biscuits. Dd needs to understand she cannot do this. A seven year old knows what she's doing, and she knew what she was doing wasn't right. The fact she bragged about it isn't good.

Imissmusic · 21/03/2026 21:02

bafta16 · 21/03/2026 20:17

I wonder how this level of control will work further down the line.

What do you mean?

OP posts:
hahahaaa · 21/03/2026 21:02

My 5 year old wouldn’t be wolfing down biscuits and desperately grabbing handfuls of chocolate like it, it’s not normal behavior. You know better at 7.

estrogone · 21/03/2026 21:05

Lynchpinny · 19/03/2026 21:32

Good lass, I like her style.

But yes, I’d be very very angry.

Very very angry about a few biscuits. Feckin hell, would hate to know what happens when you have something real to be angry about Confused

MsAmerica · 21/03/2026 21:06

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

It's not a matter of being "cross." I would be very perturbed, because it implies that she considers your structures something than can and should be circumvented. (Although you didn't say you actually had forbidden them.) On the other hand, you have to give her credit for being truthful.

I think probably you either need to:
>Explain quietly that you're the rule-giver and she's not to go around you.
>Explain why you are restricting her - probably more so than most families.
>Think about whether your habits are unreasonably restrictive.

estrogone · 21/03/2026 21:09

ProudWomanXX · 21/03/2026 20:40

It got to the point with our DD, that from her aged 6, we had to put a proper padlock on a double kitchen cupboard and lock away all the sweet stuff, biscuits, chocolate etc including packets of sugar, dried fruit and chocolate (all for baking)

DD has hf Autism and ADHD. She still buys copious amounts of sweet stuff and despite our best efforts during her childhood with regular dentist treatment, her teeth are dreadful and she's borderline Type 2 diabetic.

We also ensured she had a proper, lots home grown, cooked from scratch, healthy mixed diet growing up (yes, with some sweet stuff!)

but once she left home and was a student she just. ate total junk

She's 28 now.

Edited

Must be a joke right. A padlock on the cupboard?

This thread is crackers. So much weirdness about food.

suki1964 · 21/03/2026 21:13

As a child of her age in the early 70's , we didnt have snacks or treats

We were given 3 meals a day , and built up a hunger for them so we ate what ever was put in front of us

Biscuits were for Sundays , 2 plain, 1 fancy , from the tea time selection

We as children would never have helped ourselves to food If we were hungry we would have to say and were given an apple/banana or slice of bread and butter

Is your daughter actually eating her meals? Does she enjoy the meals and clear what's served or push it around the plate and then complain later she's hungry

When I inherited Step children, I had some battles on my hands around what I thought they should eat, and what they would eat . So in the end meals were always serve yourself . So one liked carrots, another liked peas, one would eat breast meat, another only liked legs . I put enough food down that everyone should eat their fill - so there was no raiding the cupboards as they were so used to after dinner having not eaten enough

My wee sister would and still could demolish a pack of biscuits alone with a mug of tea, and I found out recently I could as well - for me it was a one off and I still feel sick just thinking about it I myself can inhale a bar of chocolate and not even register eating it - if Ive not eaten enough at meal times

pimplebum · 21/03/2026 21:28

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

A packet of chocolate chip cookies split between 3 and you had several left over

so every had 3

so tight with food

i am overweight snd had eating disorder in part due to my mums extreme tightness with food and the guilt i would simply say “you should ask first in case i needed them for something but im glad you enjoyed them they were yummy shall we get more ?

Whatwouldnanado · 21/03/2026 21:29

I’d be having words about her being greedy. The biscuits were meant for you all to enjoy another day. Pigging the lot is rude and selfish. If she feels hungry she should ask for a bit of toast or some fruit. About the other times she’s stuffed herself with rubbish, does she have a good breakfast? Protein to fill her up? At seven she is growing rapidly. Make sure she’s getting enough fluids too. People often mistake thirst for hunger.
.

DoesthislookgoodOnMe · 21/03/2026 21:34

TheJoyousHiker · 19/03/2026 21:32

I wouldn’t be cross but would have a think why she might have eaten them - would it because there’s so seldom biscuits, crisps, etc in the house ? Do you make a thing out of not having them in the house and what a treat it is to have them ? You mention hiding them away - why would that be ? You know there’s no harm in a biscuit or some other sort of sweet food item once a day if they have a balanced diet, exercise, etc.

Exactly this, why deprive little treats along with a healthy diet?

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