Can't stand the constant whine "I'm hungry!" when DS gets in from school. Help!

[ruhavingalarf]

Normally try to do dinner for around 5pm dependent on after sch activities as DD in bed by 7.

Prob is DS1 starving when he comes out of school. Snack doesn't seem to cut it but don't want to give him too much so he doesn't eat his dinner.

But if there's no after school activity I have over 1 and a half hours of howling, whingeing, cajoling, tantrumming and assault on his sister because he's grumpy cos he's hungry. he's very, very

If I shift dinner forward, he's hungry again at 7pm. Any suggestions gladly welcomed.

Children need tons of fuel - and 3 meals a day no snacks doesn't really work for most, it's just too long to wait

If he's ratty and whiny for an hour and a half and you can't distract him into an activity of some sort then he's hungry not bored!

Think about his lunch too - maybe he needs more then? An extra sandwich?

My ds gets quite horrible when he's hungry. He usually has a sandwich when he gets home from school, and is liable to eat a large supper and then want a snack at bedtime too (he is a very active, very thin and high metabolism sort of child). If it means your ds is a nicer person then go for it. It can't be much fun for you or your dd to have an hour and a half of crossness, and if he genuinely is hungry then you are being really very unkind. Try feeding him something more substantial and see how it goes. You could probably move your meal back to six and still have your dd in bed by 7 (we've done baths before tea to make things work and it's not been a problem).

Its always worth putting yourself in the place of your child - how would you feel if you were hungry and couldn't do anything about it - quite grumpy perhaps! It's easy to think in adult terms. Kids need frequent refueling.

I used to work for a French family where children had a very substantial snack after school and then dinner later. I agree that it's an awfully long time for children to wait between lunch at school and dinner and that often children mistake thirst for hunger. I still do!

wanders off to drink some water

Another vote for early dinner and then a pre-bed snack of toast, cereal, banana sandwich, yogurt & granola etc.

(I mean those as alternatives, not everything at once )

Mine has a snack after school like fruit, cake, carrot sticks, toast, cereal bar and has his dinner just before 6 (which he usually eats all of) and then often carries on snacking 1/2 an hr later til he goes to bed!
I've started to give him puddings now and he snacks a lot less after dinner.
He is slim too.