The constant feeding / snacking of children

[Lordofthebantams]

At swimming lessons tonight I've sat next to two children chomping their way through a packet of crisps and a packet of chocolate biscuits at 4pm. ( No eating on the poolside but never mind that, the little darlings need some salty junk).

We had a day out with friends on Tuesday at a farm park and kids are being handed food every 5 minutes.

You go down the street and everywhere you look the toddlers in buggies have their little hands stuffed in packets of puffs or gripping a biscuit.

It's no wonder we have such chubby children everywhere.

Wow I didnt know snacking was thing to be so judgemental about. If my DCs are hungry I feed them. Who wants to deal with a hangry child.

You have no insight into those families lives or weeks. That could be there treat for the week and dinner isnt until much later. The snapshot you see if that....just a snapshot of what they are eating.

Catch me on a friday and you'd think think my children have crap diets - ice creams after school and pizzas for dinner sometimes a dessert. But thats our weekly treat. The rest of the week its home cooked meals and healthy snack.

Yeah it's a bit boggling when they put the kid off even trying stuff.

I can understand on one level, you don't want to be in a restaurant and end up with a fussy kid who doesn't like their meal and feeling like it was a waste of money.

But there's usually a compromise, like let them order the meal then if they don't like it they just have the sides or a bit of yours and the "unwanted" meal gets shared out or something.

Well your house sounds delightful, and comparison clearly brings you joy.

I spose it’s better you vent here then spew your shit to some lesser parent in person

Some kids are genuinely hungrier though, I feed my 7 year old constantly, both nice, home cooked meals and snacks. He has an incredible metabolism, is running round all the time and is naturally very slim. I feed him whenever he says he's hungry!

Many restaurants are happy to bring a taster out if a diner is unsure.

To echo others, yabu, you cant judge based on a small interaction you've seen in their day.
My DD is 6, she's a big snacker but will also ask for fruit some times but others it will be crisps, chocolate or ice cream, she has a dedicated snack box. If on the go, or I know I'll be picking her up on the way back from somewhere, packing something from the cupboard makes more sense and not something that will go warm or bruised in a hot car. We don't eat until 6pm most nights so having a snack at 3pm/4pm makes sense. School lunch is at around 11.30am, I don't know anyone who would wait from 12pm to 6pm without a snack.

I had ‘snacks’ as a child 11 o’clockses which was anything from fruit, biscuit, something my grandma had baked. Then lunch and 3 oclockses so similar, then dinner all sat down at the table plenty veg etc and usually desert fruit and custard, rice pudding etc, my fave is was at grandmas she’ was an amazing cook.

my sister and I were always outside and active, bikes, roller skating etc both slim kids. My mum had a ‘treat’ tub of mini mars etc which were for big treats, so I did similar with my kids. They’ve always eaten well. 2 are more adventurous with what they ate and. 2 prefer more beige foods. All 4 are slim, tall healthy boys. Moderation, making sure they are eating a range of foods and some treats. I don’t think they were always eating but they were happy kids.

I think because I grew up without a snacking habit I was reluctant to give the children snacks. They weren't very good eaters and I was always worried about spoiling their appetite.
I stuck rigidly to a small biscuit mid morning but this meant they were really hungry at meals and I couldn't be flexible and delay lunch or dinner.
In hindsight I wish I could have been more relaxed about the whole thing.

I agree, definitely a high priority to ensure your kids are healthy and fed good foods and it’s really sad when this isn’t the case. Just pointing out there are strong links between resource-scarcity and obesity in the UK and for many families it’s more complicated than someone like me in my middle class bubble probably realises.

Yes, and then the parents insist they have "food issues" and (inevitably) ADHD

I can just about see a healthy something-or-other if they're going from a long day at school to a strenuous activity, but some of these kids' jaws rarely seem to stop moving and so often it's junk food

Kids are starving after swimming and exhausted, particularly little kids. I always take crackers and fruit or cheese strings. A snack doesn't have to be rubbish but why would you leave a kid starving and grumpy during a drive home? For us to go swimming for an hour delays dinner etc so them having a snack means I've time to make a proper meal when we get in.

Snacks were absolutely a thing as least as far as 90. Biscuit and diluted every day at nursery, break time for snack during school and after school snacks to hold you over for dinner were pretty standard.

As someone born in 1983 this is absolutely true and we're more likely to get stodge than fruit

It wasn't normal when I was growing up but I noticed that it had become so in the 1990s when my children were little. Edited to add: we had our free bottles of milk at morning break, but that was all. At home we might have a drink and a biscuit mid-morning, but that was about it.

Definitely much more stodgy!
I imagine the main factor in the cut off of afternoon snacks being earlier then is simply the change to the workday. You didn’t have 2 parents commuting home at 6pm to pick one kid up from after school club, drive the other to a club and then home for a late dinner as is common now.
Average dinner time was much earlier in the day.

I personally think Greggs have a lot to answer for here , hot pastry slop and the like - and Maccy Ds with 1.99 burgers etc - kids and teens start to see these quite calorific fat filled treats as just a quick easy to grab snack often almost daily and then eat meals on top - I’m not against any of these things especially if I’m stick at a service station etc but they shouldn’t be multiple times a week things.

Leave yourself open to the idea that life might change a lot over the next decade. Your kids are tiny.

I grew up without snacks as per most people in the 80s. Am seriously overweight now. It’s not a correlation - for me one of the things that started my weight gain was being thrilled to have my own money and more control over my food. Bought endless junk as I never had it at home. So being restrictive can backfire!

I don’t care when or what my kids eat as long as they eat their proper meals. They’re both on the thin side and eat all day long. My daughter in particular. She’s 13 and a dancer and never stops. They snack on fruit or veggies or sweets or crisps - it’s all an option. Will see how it turns out when they’re adults but for now they are able to self regulate and put it away when they don’t want more. And they eat their meals at the table in between.

My kid grazes all day. Deeply irritating but she’s healthy and not overweight. Why on earth are you so invested in the eating habits of other peoples children?

I really do not understand "snack", which is a word I hate.
Give your children a good breakfast, a decent lunch and a light supper.
No need to pile on extras, certainly not extras out of a plastic package!
Hungry between meals? An apple, banana or carrot.
Make sure they drink enough as thirst and hunger can be misinterpreted.

I agree OP (other than for very little kids who don't have big enough tummies to last until meals / can't always articulate they're hungry)

I've known a few parents with kids who are overweight and with dental issues, who insist their kids are natural 'grazers' when the parents are offering a full day's worth of food between meals on playdates. One where we visited over 3 hours the kids were offered smoothies, crisps and samosas

Well done OP…here’s your medal.

Now if you could just share your wisdom with families whose kids don’t even have a bedroom to call their own never mind anywhere to put a dining table that would be great.

Jeepers the disconnect of some people with their rose tinted glasses, . 🙄

.

I was born earlier than that and remember milk at school and being given a play piece for morning break - usually a chocolate bar or a bag of crisps. A packed lunch consisted of a sandwich, another chocolate biscuit and a bag of crisps maybe an apple if my mum felt virtuous. We ate healthy breakfast and evening meal but school food consisted of things that would survive the trip to school and no refrigeration. There were 6 of us, none of whom have a weight problem.

After swimming snack was always a bowl of chips from the pool cafeteria.

Are you a parent? Your health visitor tells you from weaning onwards you're aiming for 3 meals and 2 snacks.

Typically in our house that's breakfast of whole grain cereal.or toast or fruit and yoghurt

Snack they take to school is fruit, cereal bar, popcorn, sometimes crisps or biscuits on a Friday.

Lunch is school.lunch or packed lunch, packed lunch is a sandwich say ham, a cheese string or yoghurt, a piece of fruit and a veg.

Snack after school might be some bread sticks or crackers with humous, dinner is normal dinner, chilli and rice, sausages and mash, baked potatoes and topping etc etc

Then before bed thell have a drink of milk and maybe a slice of toast.

They're really active, walk to and from school, sports clubs 3/4 nights a week, swimming with me once a week on top of their lessons.

😂are you saying that crisps and chocolate biscuits is a better or the same alternative to fruit… yes it has sugar but it’s naturally occurring. Baffling