How/where do you store snacks?

[Littlemiss74]

I’m interested to know how other people store snacks ie crisps, cereal bars, biscuits etc. Do your dc’s have free rein to access them as and when they want to? Despite me telling ds 13 to ask he inevitably helps himself and the snacks hardly seem to last 5 minutes! I’ve started hiding the pringles otherwise he will eat the lot and the rest of the family miss out but hiding things seems a bit extreme!

Please tell me what you do?

We hide the lot as DS started eating everything in sight. When he discovers the hiding place we have to find a new one. It’s frustrating.
I even have to open the box of ice lollies and put them in with anything that’s open such as the peas, box of pies or wherever they will fit of he will eat the lot!
Snacks have ended up hidden in the sideboard, the pouffe, the coat cupboard -even our wardrobes. It’s ridiculous.

I store things in the cupboard and the kids ask for a snack if they want one. I usually say yes unless we are going to eat soon or they have already had enough. Fruit and veg is always freely available.

If your DS isn’t asking and is eating them all then I’d stop buying them. When he asks where they are just say you didn’t buy any as we’re going through them too fast.

Does he have an issue with food? How is his weight and exercise? Are his meals big enough?

Boot of the car.

Have some in food cupboard and hide the rest otherwise they will eat all in one go.

On the whole they ask first but instead of taking one thing will take four or five if they think I am not watching,

In my belly, mostly.

Mine are in a bag for life hanging from a coat hook on the back of a door so out of reach and not visible but easy for me to grab!

Crisps and things in the cupboard. Biscuits in the biscuit tin. Ds asks when he wants something

He doesn’t have an issue with food although he is quite fussy. His weight is fine and usually very active but this has decreased somewhat since lockdown and no school, football etc. We do get him out every day for a walk or bike ride. I think its his age, sudden signs of puberty and seems always hungry. Maybe we do need to give him more at mealtimes.

My children don't have free reign of the snack cupboard but are younger. When I was growing up we had access but were only allowed 1 x packet crisps, 1 x choc/snack bar a day. We wouldn't have dared taking more than that!

Boot of the car.

When mine were teens I resorted to locking them away. Literally. Doens't seem to have worked though - as adults they all pig out on far to many snacks / sweets / chocs

I expected mine to ask . I rarely bought snacks as such but did have ice lollies, fruit, olives , toast, chocolate in the fridge or cupboards. Children didn't help themselves.

Fruit bowl of apples and pears are fair game but I even have to ration berries or they would eat the whole punnet. Snacks in a high cupboard and they have to ask. May need to hide when dd goes to secondary.

I expected mine to ask
So do I. But they don't... 🤷🏻‍♀️

In a high cupboard.
DC asked when they were young. They weren't allowed to help themselves
Now as young adults I just buy fewer snack items as they don't last two minutes.

We have healthy-ish snacks (cereal bars etc) on a low shelf in reach. Have done since they were small. They don't need to ask but the rule is generally they can have one a day, and if they want something else it's fruit or crackers. Crisps and chocolate bars are served with meals, not in between, so although they are in reach they don't take them without asking AFAIK.

They are 11 and 13 so I realise this might all go pear-shaped soon. They eat more of less adult sized meals, particularly the older one.

In the larder. The dc know where they are but we don’t snack except biscuits or a cereal bar after school. I don’t think people need to be grazing the whole time so they never had snacks, even as toddlers, so they don’t help themselves except after school. We have a tin of treat size chocolate bars too: they all know where it is and can reach it, but wouldn’t help themselves as it’s for the family, and we might pass the tin round on a weekend after dinner.

I hide them. Otherwise one (I don’t even know which child, possibly all of them at different times?) will sneak some and the rest don’t get their fair share.
Every once in a while I won’t hide them and then if things go missing, I don’t buy any more, if they can’t share fairly they can’t have any.

I wish I didn’t have to and I do worry that hiding them / banning them, makes them more desirable and not helpful in having a healthy approach to food.

Don't buy them.
Serve meals with fat and protein in them, instead of things like rice and pasta based meals.

Have a fruit bowl they can help themselves to.

My children always had free access to the fruit bowl and the box of vegetable sticks in the fridge when small. Anything else they had to ask for.

At 13 and 15 they get more free rein, but they still always check with me!

Teen boys are notorious for being permanently hungry. I would definitely up portion sizes with more protein if possible. In our house DS knows he's allowed a bag of crisps or a chocolate bar without asking but generally he does check and unless it's close to mealtimes hes allowed. Also, at other times things like toast, cereal, crackers are free rein. The one thing we do have to restrict is cheese as he'd merrily munch through a whole block. He's now 5ft 11 and weighs about 9st. Boys need lots of calories for growing bones.

Mine are in plastic boxes on the bottom shelf of the kitchen sideboard. Dd (10) doesn't seem too bothered about the sweets though, and there were until they were binned last week sweets and chocs from Easter 2019.
She doesn't have to ask for things, although generally she does, but she is only allowed 1 packet of skips a day otherwise she would eat them all.

Ours are just in the cupboard and fridge so not hidden.

To be fair the teenage DC are pretty good at regulating their snacks. With 'home school' they'll come in search of something at break time and usually have something with a glass of milk before bedtime. It's just as likely to be fruit, yogurt, cheese/crackers as biscuits, crisps or cake.

The one place chocolate is safe in this house is the vegetable drawer in the fridge. They've not found that place yet. Crisps are devoured swiftly, we don't buy a lot and once they're gone they're gone so we don't try to hide them and we make the biscuits so we just make a small batch here and there.

Maybe give him his own box of snacks for the week and if he runs out he has to ask for more or wait till you refill it. I put unhealthy snacks high up so ds cannot reach them and fruit is in the fruit bowl so can be easily accessed.