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.

I'm 37, my friend is 59. She worries that DS (nearly 2) isn't getting enough to eat because I don't give him snacks! Occasionally he'll get something on the way home for the shops (I buy him baby snacks for him to have with his lunch) but I don't do it the rest of the time. He has three good sized meals a day and I try to make sure he's getting enough fruit and veg, protein and carbs (and a bag of melty buttons or similar isn't going to hurt.)

When she looks after him she gives him snacks and then he doesn't want to eat his dinner!

I too think children do need a snack between school and other activities.

Yes but once they’re older, out on their own, own money from part-time job etc you start having less and less control.

No, but when I was at school it was entirely optional to have a snack or not at break.

Several PPs have said they've been advised by school or HV that the children 'need' it. That's what seems to have changed, not the opportunity but the encouragement to snack, like it's a necessity. I don't think it is.

I know when I snack on poor quality carb heavy foods I get hungrier and need to snack more, because they don't fill you up. I didn't believe this until I changed my diet for health reasons. For the first time in my life I didn't feel the need to snack. I was astounded at the difference the choice of food made. That's why I'm skeptical about the 'every child needs empty carbs at break' message.

It sounds like maybe you need to find posher swimming lessons? I think you're a bit too snobby for the current ones.

Absolutely, the UK snack culture is horrific! Applies to adults as well, people are just chewing like cows all day

It's out of hand and it's become a part of the culture so much that snacks are pushed at you everywhere you go. Even going for a walk in the forest, there is a cafe and food trucks with sweets and hot chocolate along the way. Don't get me started on the theatre, when people apparently cannot make it through a 2 hour show without opening multiple noisy bags of sweets and crisps.

I took my daughter to the park last week and saw a little girl of around 6, so obese that she couldn't walk very fast, carrying a bag of crisps that she was tucking into. She didn't attempt any of the climbing equipment and her Dad lifted her into one of those basket type swings, pushed her for a while whilst she laid motionless in the swing, then got her down and they went home.

It seemed very sad that her movement and ability to play was already so limited at such a young age.

My dad had OP’s thinking when I was young…it got to the point that my mum packed me secret snacks in my bag when I went to
his house for the weekend because ‘no you can’t have a morsel of food, it’s only 2 hours until dinner’ 😱
He would serve portions for lunch and dinner that I physically couldn’t finish and then say…’see, there’s no way you’d have wanted dinner if you’d had a snack earlier’…kids generally like to eat little and often!
I’d come home and eat my mum out of house and home for the next 2 days. Thankfully I only stayed at his every 3rd weekend and I stopped it at 14.

My kids are usually starving after swimming. Always take a snack for them.

to be honest swimming makes me hungry too! Exercise generally does.

kids eat lunch early at school. They’re busy and growing and nothing wrong with a snack.

agree that donuts, crisps and lots of unhealthy snacks aren’t great. But that’s hardly news.

but healthy snacks with balanced meals and exercise are fine.

Why don’t you wind your judgemental neck in and concentrate on your own kids and life.

😂

Well aren’t you the saintly saint. Concentrate on your own kids. Why on earth would you make a post like this. Up your own arse much?

Difference between junk snacks and healthy ones though … carrot sticks v a bag of crisps

It's still sugar. It's something diabetics need to eat sparingly.

The judgement on here is insane. Never seen anything like it. Judging other people’s kids to make yourself feel superior is another level of batshit crazy

This is why I think it’s really hard to judge other families based on what you see.
My eldest daughter has sensory differences, ASD, ADHD and food is a daily challenge. She rarely eats her packed lunch at school because the smell and noise of the dining hall overwhelm her. She often comes home starving and snacks to make up for the calories she’s missed. Even then, dinner is healthy and balanced. She will eat snacks after like salad, fruit and usually a treat.
If we’re out somewhere exciting, she often can’t focus on eating a meal at all and needs regular snacks instead. They’re healthy snacks, but they’re what help her meet her nutritional needs,

and will have junk food, really hard with a impulsive child who craves it.
we keep the snacks hidden.
My 4-year-old, on the other hand, happily eats three meals a day and a couple of snacks. Same parents, same home, completely different child.
Some children will eat whatever is put in front of them. Others have sensory needs, neurodivergence, anxiety, medical conditions or feeding difficulties that make eating much more complicated.
Most parents are doing their best. Many of us worry constantly that our children aren’t eating enough or eating the way we’d like. A little less judgement and a little more understanding would go a long way.

Kids want to eat little and often because they have small tummies. It's not actually a terrible way for adults to eat either, if it's mostly nutritious.

I do get what you are saying OP, but we are a nation of snackers. Lots of grown ups snack and that is the behaviour that has normalised and is being modelled. It's not great but think about why.

Great for you that you a) can afford to buy nice fruit and b) have kids that will eat it. One of the issues with fruit, especially cheaper fruit, is the variable texture and taste. A lot of kids are wildly suspicious if some of their experiences aren't great and are inconsistent. One mushier apple = don't like apples.

Also, that period between school and swimming is a snapshot on quite a busy and tiring evening. Maybe they don't eat quite like that all the time. We have a lot of busy evenings ferrying kids to stuff, eating late on etc. it is what it is, sometimes it's healthy and sometimes it isn't

I think a healthy balance is fine…my toddler eats mostly fruit snacks in the house, a banana when out and about but if he’s already had a banana that day, I’d happily stick a conveniently packaged/processed snack in his bag…knowing it’s not the healthiest but balance that out for the rest of his food for the day.
He’s been 99th centile or above since 3months old (when he was exclusively breastfed) so people like OP may judge that snapshot and say look at her ‘chunky toddler’ eating a packet of Pom bears! Tut tut! End of the day he eats a very healthy diet 95% of the time.

Fruit was somewhat restricted when I was a child - it was an expensive extra.
My snack to take to school - when I was old enough to make it myself - was a Marmite sandwich. When I was younger the school milk (I never liked it) was considered enough.

My Gdcs do get through quite a few snacks - including a lot of bananas - but they’re all very active and super-slim.

Eating little and often is actually much better for you as big meals peak your sugar levels instead of having a consistent level throughout the day. And as someone who is type 1 diabetic I see rapidly how much energy your body uses from different sports - swimming skyrockets my blood sugar levels down dangerously low sometimes so of course children should be given a snack after exercising to replenish their energy and not just rely on lunch they ate hours ago. Said from a mum of a very healthy vegan 3 year old who eats healthy exciting meals every day as well as snacks in between.

I see you’ve got loads of people telling you to mind your own business but I agree! There are situations where needs must but snacks and screen time seem to be a default these days for any time children are inconvenient or kicking off.

I have certainly used both of them before on the rare very desperate occasion so I am not judging families for using them in an emergency but for many parent these seem to be the automatic default to make life easier. Children need to learn to deal with boredom, frustration, and discomfort.

I agree with you OP. On days out with friends I feel like a terrible mother because I haven’t packed endless snacks and treats. Even going to a 30 minute toddler film at the cinema seems to involve crisps, a biscuit, god knows what else. Endless ice creams and ice lollies on hot days. I find it confusing and irritating. My daughter can always eat when she’s hungry or of course have one ice lolly while we’re out and about, but there seems to be an obsession with shoving crap down kids throats.

I bloody love empire biscuits, haven’t had one in ages.

One thing I do know, breadsticks, hummus and rice cakes never passed my lips in childhood, my mum would have flown to the moon before she gave me half a carrot for play piece. Farleys rusks were about as posh as we got.

My kids have meals and snacks depending on time and hunger levels. Sometimes that might be toasted crumpets, or a piece of fruit, or an ice cream, sometimes veggies and a cream cheese dip. I’m not going to get too hung up on it. I survived crispy pancakes and vesta curry - they’ll be absolutely fine. They’re not mainlining sherbet lemons or cola cubes the way I was in primary school.

Irn bru bars, freddos and flying saucers 😋

I didn’t realise only eating 3 square meals a day was seen as superior to snacking. When I’ve needed to watch my weight I’ve just been aware of maintenance number of calories and stuck to it… whether that’s been via meals with no snacks or grazing on lots of little bits throughout the day has made zero difference as long as I’ve not gone over.