Page 23 | She ate all the biscuits

Imissmusic · 2026-03-19T21:24:28+00:00

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

KLMUK · 26/03/2026 08:35

I haven't read all the replies, but I would say your child has to learn that she needs to control these types of behaviour before they become harmful to her health. I know people say "Don't make a big deal about it or she will have eating disorder etc" but if you leave it then obesity and control issues will be there which are even more problematic. Not every child will develop an eating disorder just because you say a particular food is unhealthy, it is all about education.

I think you need to sit her down and talk about this and explain calmly that this is not healthy and this is not what you want her to do. Just because she has a full packet she is not allowed to eat them all, she must ask permission before she eats anything like a buscuit etc - if she does disobey you then she is punished. For every thing she takes without permission, she loses one day of TV or XBOX etc. It is not about the food per se, it is about taking something without permission. People may say that she is too young to understand, but she does, believe me- this is how I was brought up and I never had a problem. My Mum was in charge and I listened to her, I never questioned it. I had boundaries and I knew that if I crossed them I would pay a price. And if someone doesn't think punishment should be used, then remember that punishemnt is used in a broad sense of the word and we as adults are punished for things that we do too, it's a way of life.

Personally I would not buy anything at all that she would be tempted by. Nothing. Retrain her dietary habits. If she is not able to control herself then you have to do it for her and if there is nothing for her to find then she can't eat it. Involve her in making healthy snacks that she can bake with you and then have as a treat that are better than biscuits. The eating habits you instill in childhood will be followed for the rest of her life and you are responsible for creating them, so do something now before it starts to rule her life.

pipthomson · 26/03/2026 23:17

I would try and switch to snacks that won’t set up compulsion for more( which are usually, refined sugars wheat and lactose )try things like oatcakes which are delicious with non-dairy spread and marrmite
you will find out for yourself what the triggers are I would suggest that you don’t make it into a reward system whereby unhealthy food is a reward for good behaviour this might not be the best way to go
lots of good advice at O-Anon

Valeriekat · 27/03/2026 03:47

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.

Did you bother reading past the first sentence?

WhatAboutSecondBreakfast86 · 27/03/2026 04:51

KLMUK · 26/03/2026 08:35

I haven't read all the replies, but I would say your child has to learn that she needs to control these types of behaviour before they become harmful to her health. I know people say "Don't make a big deal about it or she will have eating disorder etc" but if you leave it then obesity and control issues will be there which are even more problematic. Not every child will develop an eating disorder just because you say a particular food is unhealthy, it is all about education.

I think you need to sit her down and talk about this and explain calmly that this is not healthy and this is not what you want her to do. Just because she has a full packet she is not allowed to eat them all, she must ask permission before she eats anything like a buscuit etc - if she does disobey you then she is punished. For every thing she takes without permission, she loses one day of TV or XBOX etc. It is not about the food per se, it is about taking something without permission. People may say that she is too young to understand, but she does, believe me- this is how I was brought up and I never had a problem. My Mum was in charge and I listened to her, I never questioned it. I had boundaries and I knew that if I crossed them I would pay a price. And if someone doesn't think punishment should be used, then remember that punishemnt is used in a broad sense of the word and we as adults are punished for things that we do too, it's a way of life.

Personally I would not buy anything at all that she would be tempted by. Nothing. Retrain her dietary habits. If she is not able to control herself then you have to do it for her and if there is nothing for her to find then she can't eat it. Involve her in making healthy snacks that she can bake with you and then have as a treat that are better than biscuits. The eating habits you instill in childhood will be followed for the rest of her life and you are responsible for creating them, so do something now before it starts to rule her life.

Completely agree with all of this. You are brave to use the word punishment on here! Mumsnet doesn't like 'punishment' more 'consequence' but its the same thing as far as i am concerned!

NavyTurtle · 08/04/2026 13:53

RandomUsernameHere · 19/03/2026 22:27

I’d not make a big deal of the amount she ate, but that she did it without asking. Someone else might have wanted a biscuit and now there are none left. So the focus is more on having good manners rather than the amount she ate.

This

AeriatedAnna · 08/04/2026 14:13

I would not be happy, she obviously thinks it’s OK to do this. Every morning when she got up I’d tell her what biscuits I’d eaten the night before whilst she was in bed.

Chubbawubber · 08/04/2026 16:46

AeriatedAnna · 08/04/2026 14:13

I would not be happy, she obviously thinks it’s OK to do this. Every morning when she got up I’d tell her what biscuits I’d eaten the night before whilst she was in bed.

Really, you’d want to fuck with your kids head. Wow

invisiblemice · 08/04/2026 17:01

AeriatedAnna · 08/04/2026 14:13

I would not be happy, she obviously thinks it’s OK to do this. Every morning when she got up I’d tell her what biscuits I’d eaten the night before whilst she was in bed.

What?!! Why would you do this, what do you think it will achieve?

@Imissmusic How is everything since?

Original poster

Imissmusic · 08/04/2026 17:09

AeriatedAnna · 08/04/2026 14:13

I would not be happy, she obviously thinks it’s OK to do this. Every morning when she got up I’d tell her what biscuits I’d eaten the night before whilst she was in bed.

What?

OP posts:

Dersie · 08/04/2026 17:19

Wow

Jellycatspyjamas · 08/04/2026 17:47

I honestly think you’re overthinking things. She ate more biscuits than is good for her, has a sweet tooth and low impulse control which is about every 7 year old I know. At that age my two had a snack box each day with a mix of sweet and savoury snacks - they could access it as they pleased but when it was done it was done. Everything else put away - out of reach purely because of the kitchen layout. They’re teens and I don’t do that now - I don’t restrict their food in any way, they’re able to choose what to eat in a way they couldn’t when they were 7, because they’ve grown up.

Have a strategy for snacks, help your DD understand what she can and can’t access and give her room to grow up.

BeAquaTiger · 09/04/2026 20:27

Imissmusic · 19/03/2026 21:32

Have done that with cereal boxes, took her longer to find, but she has found them before…she looks everywhere 😂

Show quote history

My sister behaved like that with her kids and sweet things and it caused no end of issues when they were in their teens. The youngest used to spend his dinner money on junk in a corner shop instead of having meals then got B12 deficiency living on junk food at uni.
The eldest went to uni and put 3 stone in weight on eating crap. Very overweight now.

They never learned moderation around carbs or sweet food as it was so heavily policed by their mother, who also hid food around the house for personal snacking due to her own poor relationship with food.
My kids don't binge eat or go crazy witn biscuits or sweets, I end up throwing sweets and easter eggs away as they go out of date. There are always sweets, chovolate, biscuit and cake in our house. We have a dessert after every meal. They can have yogurt, fruit, a few biscuits, homemade cake, some chocolate etc. They chose. They don't go looking for more because its not prized or forbidden food in our house.
You are creating your own problems if you treat sweet food as a treat or vegetables as undesirable

BeAquaTiger · 09/04/2026 20:41

KLMUK · 26/03/2026 08:35

I haven't read all the replies, but I would say your child has to learn that she needs to control these types of behaviour before they become harmful to her health. I know people say "Don't make a big deal about it or she will have eating disorder etc" but if you leave it then obesity and control issues will be there which are even more problematic. Not every child will develop an eating disorder just because you say a particular food is unhealthy, it is all about education.

I think you need to sit her down and talk about this and explain calmly that this is not healthy and this is not what you want her to do. Just because she has a full packet she is not allowed to eat them all, she must ask permission before she eats anything like a buscuit etc - if she does disobey you then she is punished. For every thing she takes without permission, she loses one day of TV or XBOX etc. It is not about the food per se, it is about taking something without permission. People may say that she is too young to understand, but she does, believe me- this is how I was brought up and I never had a problem. My Mum was in charge and I listened to her, I never questioned it. I had boundaries and I knew that if I crossed them I would pay a price. And if someone doesn't think punishment should be used, then remember that punishemnt is used in a broad sense of the word and we as adults are punished for things that we do too, it's a way of life.

Personally I would not buy anything at all that she would be tempted by. Nothing. Retrain her dietary habits. If she is not able to control herself then you have to do it for her and if there is nothing for her to find then she can't eat it. Involve her in making healthy snacks that she can bake with you and then have as a treat that are better than biscuits. The eating habits you instill in childhood will be followed for the rest of her life and you are responsible for creating them, so do something now before it starts to rule her life.

My sister tried being that controlling about food with her kids. They never learnt to manage their oen diet. Once they were teens tge youngest spent his dinner money on biscuits and pop and once the eldest went to university he piled weight on as his mother was not there to control his portion sizes or choices.

BeAquaTiger · 09/04/2026 20:46

So what do you do when she leaves home? Its not normal to.padlock food away. Have you considered your child is either not getting enough food or needs to see a paediatrician?
I've got a kud with a sweet tooth he has been know to pour a sachet of sugar in his mouth if we have coffee in a cafe but he would never think about spooing sugar into his mouth out of the packet at home

BeAquaTiger · 09/04/2026 20:48

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.

Show quote history

So you would be angry at a disabled child with impulse control issues or extreme hunger