to think children don't need to spend the whole afternoon grazing on food

[emkana]

Met up with friends at the park this afternoon. Friends had brought bags stuffed with food - choc bars, crisps, fruit, babybels, biscuits... I had brought - nothing. We had had lunch and were going to have dinner, I was possibly going to buy them an ice cream as a special holiday treat, but aibu to not understand why children need to be constantly be fed little snacks all through the afternoon? They're not toddlers either, they're age five to eight.

I took pizza and chicken wings to a 1hr service the other week for my DS's.................

in my defence it was an evening service so no children's stuff going on, and at dinner time as well, and I play the organ.......

My DD loves to graze. I think it's what comes naturally to humans from foraging days.
The trick is to keep the snacks healthy; a handful of grapes etc. Definitely not crisps/chocolate etc

I don't cope with being hungry at all - I get snappish, then trembly, then confused and very anxious in very short order, so I can't bear thought of dc's going hungry if they might feel anything like that. (They are very young still.) I snack a lot to fend that off and I guess I'm teaching the babies to, as well. I'd hate to think someone was getting judgey about it.

maybe the snacks were more interesting than your children, OP?

I don't know why people are so obsessed with food!

I remember picking up a child to take to DS1s birthday party 10 minute drive away and where there would be food and his mother gave him food for in the car then she wonders why he is fat!

If I am going to be all afternoon (and I mean from 1.30 to 4.30) at the park then I would prob take a bottle of water and maybe an apple each.

That's all tho. Choc bars? Not so much, unless I was planning a big shareout (as in we are meeting XXX, let's take him some of our Easter choc?)

So I agree really, it's not about skinny kids, it's about not needing always to be eating.

I do agree with those who say that the expectation of constant food availability, constant snacking, is a really bad prep for adulthood (I know because I am a bad bad snacker and hence overweight).

I didn't take any chocolate well actually i did i took a flask of hot chocolate

My skinny DD (7) eats a huge amount. 3 meals plus healthy snacks. She must burn it off as she's very thin and wiry. I would always take a bag of snacks with me.

YANBU. Some people can't seem to go out for half an hour without a bagful of snacks for the chidren. Friends of ours even break up a one hour car journey to give the child a "snack" (almost a full meal). It's not enough to eat just before and just after. Surely, other than young babies anyone should be able to wait an hour between food?

TBH i fail to see why it really matters what other parents do with their DC unless they are morbidly obese??

I don't care one iota what other parents feed their kids, but on this particular occasion their feeding habits meant that my perfectly brought up children could not fully enjoy the time with friends they get to see very rarely, because those friends were too busy asking for food all the time.

The ones that really make me go are the parents who feed their children snacks all day "because they won't eat proper meals so it's the only way I can get nutrients into them"

i had a friend who complained constantly about her hyperactive child who didn't eat.

this kid ate all day - he ate shit all day, crisps, sweets, biscuits.

it made me hoistin!

skihorse don't start me on adults who can't leave the house without bottles of water

I look after a little girl who was four when I started the job. She ate constantly, raided the fridge without asking, helped herself to whatever she wanted, and left food lying half eaten all over the house. It drove me totally batty! I admit, she was the size of a six/seven year old, but she never finished anything, and everywhere I went there was rotting food! It has taken me 18 months, but She now eats sensible meals, with one item of snackfood after school, before dinner. Unfortunately, her Dad still spends an absolute fortune on a regular Tesco delivery of tins, packets and frozen packets of food, and all three kids are still a bit hyper, but she eats much less! I have nothing against little and often grazing when its required, maybe for health reasons, or treats, but she never actually finished a meal, and wasted a small fortune in food every week!

Even if they are skinny, the snacks seem to be the type of processed food that is not good for anyone.

Grazing all day is more the natural way of eating than 3 meals a day - better for one's metabolism, but horrible for one's teeth. That being said, grazing on junk all day is not reasonable, no matter how skinny the eater is.

emkana, I don't think you are unreasonable to think that feeding junk all day is not on, but I have a 6 year old boy and have observed his friends and they seem to constantly be hungry (despite normal meals). I also grew up with 2 brothers and recall the quantity of food they needed (both skinny), particularly in adolescence (my mum had to buy a deep freeze to store all their between meal snacks!). They truly may need the snacks.

I believe in 3 meals a day and no snacks-however I don't think it matters if you are a grazer if that suits you. The important thing is that whichever camp you fall into you shouldn't be eating processed foods full of sugar, salt and empty calories.

Still going, I see... What a lot of santimonious rot. I don't care how you feed your children but quit judging the rest of the world.

My extended family is divided between fatties and thinnies. I love them all but it drives me bonkers that the fatties, who all fall into the '3 meals a day camp' sit there wolfing down huge meals, seconds and puddings because they haven't eaten for hours, while at the same time moaning about how they can't lose weight 'even though they don't eat snacks'. What they seem incapable of grasping is that those of us who eat 5 or 6 small healthy meals a day eat far fewer calories than their over-size 3 meals.

And as for all the junk food posts, sure children shouldn't eat that stuff regularly. But, if I understand the OP correctly, this was an Easter holiday day out on one of the first nice days of the year. They took a picnic, with a few treats. Big deal. Get over it.

Maybe the children were so obsessed with snacking was because they weren't allowed that on normal days.

I don't see how grazing during the day turns children into food-obsessed monsters. I snack all day as do my dcs - we are all very slender. My mind only turns unnecessarily to snacks when I am bored. Same with my dcs (eg when they are in the car).

If they are on a day out, they often forget to eat. So really don't understand about children who would rather snack than have a fun day out.

Are you exaggerating?

probably

CHickadee - 'Not Judging'?! Read your second paragraph again!

My son grazes.

He is such a skinny little thing and he doesn't eat large portions at mealtimes. Not because he's full of "snacks" but because he's a little and often eater.

We recently spent time with friends whose 2 children are overweight, snack constantly and STILL devour huge portions at mealtimes. So, I'm not concerned about snacking, at the moment.