love of local in Utah
To Snack or Not to Snack
May 29th, 2009 in Uncategorized
Silly mommy question for you:
Do you leave snacks out for your kids during the day? I remember while growing up we always had fruit out to enjoy, and the best was when we had a whole case of fresh oranges in the garage for us to snack on.
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I’ve started leaving out some snacks: nuts, dried edamame and raisins. Do you find it makes a huge mess or ruins the normal meal routine? What do you think? Leave snacks out for the kids to snack on throughout the day? Or leave them in the pantry? What is the rule in your home?
I think kids need regular snacks, and I’m not into forcing them to clear plates at dinner or anything (I was raised that way, but my MIL always says “It’s wasted on your hips or on your plate”).
And it’s kind of a pet peeve of mine to go to a fastfood place with a friend and all our kids, and the friend forces her kids to sit still and EAT.THOSE.FRENCH.FRIES.NOW. The whole point of going there is to have the kids play, right?
So I try to control what they eat, not when. If they have good habits about what they eat, I think their bodies are good enough at determining the when.
(They are required to sit and talk at dinner though, of course).
The only thing I set out though is the fruit bowl — apples, bananas, oranges. They can get a yogurt carton out of the fridge, or a piece of w/w bread. But nuts and raisins sounds like a good idea. It they’re also trained to only eat at the table (or in the backyard during summer, yay!), I don’t think this would be too much of a problem, either.
(Aren’t you glad you asked??
)
I am a \"snacker\" so it is only fair that I let Van snack. Sometimes the snacks are more healthy than others. One thing that I was blessed with was a GOOD eater. It has never ruined a meal time. EVER!
I agree with Jane.
I am still trying to figure it all out, but are we told that 6 meals a day is better than 3?
My kids eat throughout the day. I try to offer healthy snacks. My kids are fruit lovers and they also love raw nuts (almonds, pistachios, and cashews) – I like to keep the nuts in the car. I do find that sometimes they do eat less dinner after snacking, but don’t feel too bad about it when they have been having healthy snacks : )
I don’t because if I left snacks out all day my boys would eat them all and look for more!
I do require my kids to clear their plates, however I know how much they eat. Usually my 6 yo says he is done because he wants to get back to playing or something. I do not “force” them to eat it if i know they are full. I guess I just know my boys that way
Toni-Lynn
My children seem to be starving right before supper every night! I got the idea of having a plate of veggies with dip sitting out for them to snack on during this time from the book Deceptively Delicious. It has worked great and I feel good b/c they are getting an extra serving of the good stuff!
I leave fruit out for whenever. They also have their own row of yogurt in the fridge that they can eat when they want. They still eat their dinner, so I figure it works!
We do have the not so healthy snacks (organic gummy bears and worms and fruit swirls) up high and they only get one of those a day.
We’re big snackers around here…
Oranges, berries, popsicles and otter pops, smoothies, cheese and crackers, peanut butter and crackers, honeyroasted peanuts, raisins, dark chocolate, apples, fruit snacks, cucumbers and ranch dressing, etc.
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