Do toddlers actually need snacks in between meals?

[Babycatsarenice]

My instinct is no and DD eats better when we don't but we have a part time nanny who insists they need it. What's the truth?

My 18mth old will usually have a snack at around 11am at playgroup. He rarely wants a full breakfast and naps over lunchtime so I guess the snack is just a late breakfast.

On days he doesn't go to playgroup, he will skip snack and it doesn't seem to matter.

He may or may not take food offered as a snack (e.g when visiting friends) but he's very, very clear about his appetite so I'm trying to hold onto that and not make food a big deal by offering for the sake of it.

It's normal for toddlers to eat little and often. What matters is the nutritional balance over the day, rather than the number of meals.

No, and everyone else to. A friend comes in the with snacks,we’re going shopping and most likely having lunch, do you really need 3 yogurt pots and granola bars and I hate food in my car. And I’m verbal about it. I just say don’t eat in my car.. too much food.

Nothing wrong with healthy snacks - piece of fruit etc

I don't see how my 2 year old could manage with only 3 meals a day and no snacks. He's growing and constantly burning energy.

There's nothing wrong at all with healthy snacks (and occasionally unhealthy ones too).

No, it's to allow food manufacturers to sell you upf's!

Snacks don't have to be upf's.

My kid did. He was a hungry kid until about 7 or 8 and then it plateaued. I think it's fine to let toddlers snack, just don't let them eat shit. My DS used to just graze on apple slices and cubes of cheese.

Do babies eat three meals a day and nothing else?
No they don't. They drink milk every few hours when they have digested what was in their stomach previously.
Toddler are only a small step on from babies, it is not surprising that they also need to eat little and often.
It will take them their whole childhood to work up towards the "adult" three meals a day.

Babies need to eat very regularly because they have tiny tummies. We all accept this.

Toddlers tummies are bigger than babies, but much smaller than adults so logic would suggest that they eat smaller portions more frequently (than adults).

But everyone is different and if your child is eating better (and better doesn't necessarily mean more) without snacks then carry on. As long as they're getting enough it doesn't matter when or how that gets into them.

I think it's better if they have small meals and snacks as they don't eat as much in one sitting. But if only works if portion sizes are adapted and snacks are healthy not junk food.

I think of it more as six small meals - eating little and often, rather than snacking in between a set three meals.

Precisely. Demonising snacks is so ridiculous. Children have always had a snack in the day. My parents' generation would have a sugar sandwich if they were hungry between meals. At school you always took what we call a play piece here in Scotland- often a piece of fruit and a jam sandwich.

Children eat their play piece at morning play time. In France children have chocolate on bread between lunch and dinner. In the Netherlands children have white buttered bread with hundreds and thousands on top.

As long as kids are snacking on healthy things what does it matter? My 3 year old snacks on rice cakes, oat cakes, fruit, veg, humous, toast and peanut butter, cheese etc. And even though we don't allow snacks before dinner, it's still arbitrary. He has a hot dinner at 4pm but between then and 7pm bedtime he often has a pudding or a snack (labelled as "supper") or something like a bowl of porridge, toast, some oatcakes and cheese, a mug of hot milk and a digestive biscuit etc. Swap the timings of these meals or snacks around and it doesn't matter. As long as it's all good calories in, plenty of variety, and all the vitamins he needs... any discussion around "snacks" is meaningless.

Snacks can mean cheese, a satsuma, some breadsticks and humous... or it can mean a pepperoni, a bag of crisps, and a Kit Kat 🤷🏻‍♀️

I agree with most of this.

Though, as a pp said, it will depend on how long it is between meals.

Expectations about meals and snacks are cultural, and everyone is different. Some people struggle to each much food first thing in the morning. Some kids will be awake for the day at 5am, others not till gone 7am. If a child who wakes at 7am then eats porridge, yoghurt and fruit, they may not be hungry again until lunch. If a child who is up several hours earlier just has a cup of milk and some slices of apple, they will probably need some more food mid-morning. And some people, including some children, visibly flag after 3-4 hours without eating and get "hangry". If you believe you can train this out of them and power on through till the next mealtime, and are willing to put up with hangry monsters who may be too tired and hungry to reasonably sit at a table and eat a decent meal, then good luck to you!

We given snacks. Neither of my kids sit still for long - preschooler DS played for 2 hours in the playground yesterday non stop after scooting to and from the school drop off, I'd be hungry after that!

I also found having a snack gives chance to have a quick ten minutes to rest, but it also gives me ten minutes to clean up (particularly if you've been doing something messy like playdough or painting) or to set something up for them to play with afterwards.

I prefer to eat smaller amounts of food regularly through the day, as do both of my children, whereas DH prefers 3 larger meals and no snacking.

Snacks are all relative - my kids will have a bowl of chopped fruit or veg, a yoghurt or dry cheerios as an afternoon snack while at school and nursery so we continue that at home at the weekends.

I don't see the point of feeding them more at a meal time if they are full and then telling them to wait for a meal time if they are hungry...

They do! My children have been to nursery in a few different countries and have always had 2 snacks throughout the day plus lunch

Same, and I would agree that kids on the continent snack more rather than less. My kids have a three course cooked lunch at school and I am supposed to pack them two snacks too. Never seen a kid here drinking squash, for example, so possibly calories are coming in via a different route. The idea of a child not liking water is unheard of.

Bananas, apples, oranges and yoghurts did ours. Daughter now 30, healthy and 5ft 11, Son, 22, same and 6ft 5.

Neither had big appetites during the day, though and usually ate a good dinner and enjoyed warm milk at bedtime until they were 8 or 9.

I've never done a morning snack. I do an afternoon snack as dinner is later.

I think they do. But it really depends on your toddler. Mine eats actual meals like a bird so I tried cutting snacks out for a few days to see if she’d eat more of her lunch and dinner but nope! Didn’t make a difference. She’s just a natural grazer, which is a bit like me tbh. If your toddler eats heartily, maybe there’s no real need?

But, so long as the snacks are healthy and largely un-processed (take it easy on the fruit leather ones, they’re addictive and full of fructose - I learned the hard way 😵‍💫), I think it’s fine to keep their energy levels up and their blood sugar nice and stable. Unless a child has a clinical issue with unhealthy weight gain, I wouldn’t restrict access to healthy food.

I agree with this. Little and often.

Yes, most do. Snacks are perfectly common in other countries.

I think so.

Depending what age you consider toddler also, but Ds still had an afternoon breastfeed until he was around 18 months. ( plus on waking, and before bed). And still ate 3 meals and a snack ontop.

Even now he can’t eat huge portions. So it’s the same as someone giving a huge breakfast as him having a smaller breakfast, then a snack a few hours later.

At nursery they all get bread, fruit and cheese. Plus herbal tea or milk. All around 9.30am. Small portion of everything