Do little kids eat too much these days?

[BlueBirdAmberBird]

I notice that most parents have a constant supply of snacks for their kids when they're out and about, and most 2/3/4 year olds are constantly munching on breadsticks and rice cakes etc. No judgement as I'm genuinely interested to know whether or not this is the right approach. Do kids need a constant supply of healthy snacks to thrive? Or are they physiologically capable of lasting a few hours between meals?

Seriously this used to piss me off as all my mum friends were fanatical snack givers and when we were out with our kids out all the plastic packaged sugar coated crap came and i was always ‘evil mum’ for not contributing. This of course prompted much sympathy for my kids who would then get handouts. Truth be told I’d have a hot meal ready for them when they got home and their appetites would often be ruined. It’s such bad practice not being able to go for five minutes without having to shovel something in your gob. Kids need to get hungry to eat up what they should be eating.

This!!!

my children rarely snack, both are well within the normal bmi.

if they snack, they don’t eat their meals.

alot of people on here who are very pro snacking, then say in the same post that their child doesn’t eat their meals.

it doesn’t take a genius to work out why

If you’re just starting weaning they don’t need any snacks until after they turn one. Just start with one ‘meal’ then increase to two and then three over time. Those baby puffs might be OK for practicing self feeding but otherwise don’t have much nutritional value.

I was a mum who carried snacks. Mainly because sometimes we’d be caught short. I’d tended to give a snack at a certain time. I stopped once they got a bit older. Snacks were healthy and usually homemade.

I don’t believe in starving yourself so you can eat a big meal. Just eat when you’re hungry, sometimes you’ll be very hungry, sometimes you won’t.

My eldest is a thin bean pole now and normally eats one big meal a day. My youngest is also skinny and eats like a bird through the day (13 and 11).

It’s just another stick to judge others by.

🧟‍♀️

I agree it is insane. My kids are always hungry. But I find if they eat well at meal time and have a large portion of protein they are usually fine and last until the next meal.
I noticed some kids are grazers and snacks more then eat a filling meal.

I remember being the same as a kid. And calorie requirement is the highest for Teens. So it is important to offer healthy filling meals and snacks. My Mum would give us a backpack eith our water and snacks and sandwhiches on days out.

At home we offer healthy snacks - fruits, veggies, Yogurts, cheese etc. And outside easy snacks but healthy options.

Our paediatric dietitian said to move to 3 meals at 9 months and snacks after 12 months.

DD1 is not a snacker. DD2 appears to others to be a snacker but she doesn’t normally eat breakfast so has a brunch later in the day.

Both have a good varied diet and are healthy weight but like DH they are taller than average. Last time I checked 50 centile for weight but 90 centile for height.

Why can a question not be asked. They are asking a simple question with no judgement @WibbleW0bble gave a perfect answer with no judgement.

At the beginning of weaning we stuck to proper meal times, not really any need for snacks as there's usually still some milk being offered too.

We only really started doing a morning snack and an afternoon snack in-between meals when DC got really active. Also coincided with becoming slightly more opinionated on what they would and wouldn't eat at meal times! So a snack was often supplementary!

In my experience, I think it's best not to get them in the habit of constant snacking or snacks on demand, but set snack times is fine and I think most of us do it so that they've had enough calories over the day that they sleep at night 🫠

A good old Zombie thread!

Kids have small stomachs so I think ideally they would have 3 meals with a small snack in between. The way they do at nursery. Snacks tend to be more interesting and tastier so I think lots kids prefer snacking, which then leads to eating less at the next meal, which makes them snack more. It's a vicious cycle. And snacks tend to be usually something ready made or fruit.

My own DD neither wants snacks nor proper meals and she's severely underweight. Always has been. I'm always envious of the kids who like eating be it snacks or more nutritious food.