If you refuse to let your children eat till dinnertime can I ask you HOW?

[Twiglett]

Dinner will be ready in about 10 mins

5 year old is starving

for once I'm not letting him have bread or fruit ...

and boy is he doing his dying swan act

They often get little pieces of what I'm preparing.

And I do give them snacks right after school, I bring stuff on the school run. But no snacks close to tea time, iyswim.

yes snacks after school

dying swan: 1 - mummy's nerves: 0

"mummy is it time for dinner yet"

dying swan: 2 - mummy's nerves: 0

Mine are allowed fruit or the remains of their packed lunches up until an hour before we eat. I don't have a problem saying no though, and the DCs have learnt that I'm far more stubborn than they are about it.

I take the kids a sarnie and some fruit for straight after school then dinner at 5-6ish.

They have a drink when they come in from school but don't usually ask for anything to eat. But they have tea early - 5 p.m. - so not so long to hang on. Always give DS1 a small snack on Wednesdays before he goes to after-school swimming, though, as I don't want him fainting on the walk home.

If it's just before dinner I let dd have a couple of carrot sticks, frozen peas, cucumber etc. Veg or nothing

Ds2 gets quite wild about this. He's recently started throwing things at me when I say no. He's only 4 but his rage is quite scary. Daft thing is, when it gets to dinnertime he's picky and won't even feed himself.

snap with dino

snck straight after school, csometimes take it with me to pick her up and then food at 5 ish

just say no and ignore, he will get the message

cleaned his plate

we have tea at about 5. They are banned from the kitchen while we are cooking (very small room, so no room for them). they are repeatedly told that tes will be in x amount of time and nothing until then - so stop asking !

Most days now they accept that.

Ours have tea at 6 or 6:30, so they do sorta need the snack. That being said, they don't always have a snack.

We ran into school friends, on the way back from an errand, just now, who were having flakes. And still I held firm.

Ours have tea at 6 or 6:30, so they do sorta need the snack. That being said, they don't always have a snack.

We ran into school friends, on the way back from an errand, just now, who were having flakes. And still I held firm.

Smack after school and then say no more until tea time - it'll be in x minutes

OOPs of course I meant "SNACK"

I give mine a "smack" after School too, does the trick every time.

We have dinner sometime between 6.30 and 7.30. They can have a snack straight after school if they ask but not later on and certainly not 10 mins before dinner. I stick to my guns and the kids know but will chance their arm sometimes but they know I say what I mean so not to much arguing.

As with anything say what you mean and mean what you say, if you give in they will keep doing it plus they won't eat all their tea so 2 reasons to be evil mummy.