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Parenting

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Original poster

When your 6-7year olds waste their Sunday lunch and say they are hungry an hour later

41 replies

Nikki2ol6 · 18/12/2016 17:08

Do you..... let them have a snack before their next meal. Or make them wait for their next meal and say you should have ate your lunch

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PinkSwimGoggles · 18/12/2016 17:09

I offer something bland and healthy. like fruit+yoghurt.

JellyWitch · 18/12/2016 17:11

I tell them they should have eaten their lunch but I might bring tea forward a bit.

Guitargirl · 18/12/2016 17:12

I would make them wait. Sunday lunch is a right faff to prepare but there's plenty of different types of food in there for even the fussiest of eaters. And at 6/7 they are not toddlers anymore.

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Shallishanti · 18/12/2016 17:13

I'd get the uneaten lunch out of the fridge and offer to microwave it.
perhaps
unless they make a habit of it, in which case I'd want them to learn from being hungry

willconcern · 18/12/2016 17:13

In my house, tough luck. They wait til dinner. I would probably do dinner a bit early though - they won't know

CMOTDibbler · 18/12/2016 17:16

I would give something like raw carrot (nothing as exciting as yogurt!) at that age. A bit older and they would have to wait for the next meal - assuming that the refused meal was something they normally like/ had elements they like etc.

uhoh2016 · 18/12/2016 20:03

Make them wait definitely they're not babies. Old enough to know that if you don't eat a meal you'll be hungry. To give them something else an hour after leaving a meal just gives the message it is ok to skip a meal because you'll get a snack anyway

TheLongRoadToXmas · 18/12/2016 20:06

I'd offer a piece of fruit mid-afternoon, which I normally do anyway, but nothing more until tea time. I think it does no harm for a child that age to feel a bit hungry in advance of their next meal.

KatyN · 18/12/2016 21:44

I would also microwave the roast that I had put in the fridge. This can backfire because if they eat that later then dinner might not work. But that is NOT THE POINT (cuts nose off to spite face)!

Believeitornot · 19/12/2016 21:36

Maybe they don't like your Sunday dinner....

Gowgirl · 19/12/2016 21:40

They wait till the next meal, they can have a glass of milk if desperate, but my dcs are little sods for this.

Petalbird · 19/12/2016 21:44

Wait till next meal and say you should have eaten lunch or they may fall in a habit of not eating if they prefer the snacks

Fairylea · 19/12/2016 21:47

I'd make them something else like a sandwich. Maybe they just didn't fancy the lunch? We don't always want to eat the same as everyone else.

(My son is 4 and has asd and a very restrictive diet - he is under the care of a dietician as all he ever eats is bread and pasta. We don't ever make an issue of food, he eats whatever he likes whenever he likes).

ChocoChou · 19/12/2016 21:49

They will be hungry til the next meal. No exceptions!
Fill 'em up on water

Wigeon · 19/12/2016 21:51

Tough - they have to wait until the next meal. The DC (aged 5 and 8) know that they either eat when they are offered food, or they wait until the next meal / usual snack (e.g. Mid morning). They don't get to refuse a meal and then have something nicer an hour later.

I also don't insist that they eat a certain quantity at any given meal since they do genuinely seem to not be very hungry (and other times seem to eat as much as an adult).

Crumbs1 · 19/12/2016 21:51

Let them wait until next mealtime, definitely.

Wigeon · 19/12/2016 21:52

Should have been: They do genuinely seem to not be very hungry at some meal times

Gowgirl · 19/12/2016 21:54

This is why I've cut out snacks, 3 meals plus supper if they want it.

Gileswithachainsaw · 19/12/2016 21:55

If mine don't eat lunch that's it til tea.

Don't do snacks

But I'm. Pretty mean

GeorgeTheThird · 19/12/2016 21:57

This is what microwaves are for

Believeitornot · 19/12/2016 21:58

I think it's a bit mean to reheat food. Maybe they weren't hungry at meal time. Maybe the food wasn't great.
You wouldn't do it to yourself so why them?

OSETmum · 19/12/2016 21:59

The day ds (7) wastes a Sunday dinner will be the day hell freezes over 😂 but in principle, I'd make him wait til tea time.

Gowgirl · 19/12/2016 22:00

Missing a meal wont kill them, and I am not running a hotel....

Wolfiefan · 19/12/2016 22:02

They wait. But they get a warning. When they ask to get down from the table at dinner time i say it's fine if they are full up but that's dinner and I'm not preparing anything else.

Gileswithachainsaw · 19/12/2016 22:05

Trouble is believe

Some children are fine as a one off

Others will never forget the day you made them an alternative and hold out for peanuts butter and jam on toast...

Mine are under no obligation to eat if they aren't hungry. But then I also know that when dd comes out of school having not eaten her lunch she's a complete cow to be around and actually delays each being made cos she's bugging me every five mins that she's hungry and she didn't have any lunch.

So 5 onwards really is the perfect time to learn that if your at school and don't eat lunch then you have to go through til you get home and teas ready.. no one's going to make you a sandwich at 2.30 and bring it in.

Same goes at weekends in my house. Not hungry fine but your not snacking all afternoon nor am I changing dinner plans.

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