Monthly food shop

victory

Hi, I have just started monthly food shopping (last month) work load has increased so unable to 'pop to the shops' so often and that seemed the ideal solution.
Problem is my two kids, the frozen items are safe as they are not about to stand there and wait for the items to be defrosted to eat them!
It is the things in the fridge/cupboards,crisps, biscuits,yoghurts etc.
They eat them at such an alarming rate it is heart-breaking to see how much money they eat a day!!
My H says they should ask each time they 'snack' and they do but they ask for 'a yoghurt' a biscuit and take handfulls, at this rate we are not going to last to the end of the month!
I have taken to 'hiding' the crisps and anything that can be moved to see if we can last the month but when they get bored, have a snack attack,etc off they go hunting!
Food has now become an issue in this house, I feel they do not need so much constantly, H says they eat too much and they feel we are telling them not to, no one is happy!!

dora37

Hi,

My children are 15,12 & 5. I will just let you know how it works in our house.

Food does not seem to be an issue in our house. The biscuits and crisps are not hidden. The children have their 3 meals and a biscuit mid morning, if they want one, but they do have to ask - they can't just help themseves. Other than that if they want something, they can help themselves to fruit.

Are you sure they are actually hungry, as opposed to just in the habit of snacking? If they ate 3 filling meals, they surely they wouldn't be able to eat so much in between.

Maybe you need to look at bulking their meals up?

liney

How old are the children? Designated snack times dished out by mom maybe?

victory

13 and 6, not hunger just habit!! They have 3 meals a day and now that the monthly shop has put so much more food in the house all in one go, they eat and eat!! xx
This is it in a nutshell, 6 year old just had egg and soldiers for lunch, finished, came in living room and said 'am I allowed anything to eat mum?'!!! xx

shelly

Tell them that once its gone its gone and stick to it!! Don't go out for extra snacks once they have gone, make them go without and they will soon realise you mean it.



Oh but do hide some for you and hubby

victory

Thanks shelly we do hide some for us!!!!!!!
The fridge stuff we can't hide but all else has moved, I have told them that when gone no replacements, they know that, I haven't got the time to go and get it over again plus the cost, I feel there is adequate for a months worth and they are determined not to last past the end of next week!! xx

shelly

Read your reply and had a thought. Do you have room in say your garage (assuming you have a garage ) for a spare fridge which you could then put some sort of lock on. We have an old fridge in the garage we store booze and cat food in. Then you could get stock of yogurts etc out of it once a week. Just a thought.....depends if you have room though.

dora37

Rather than making it more of an issue by hiding it, and then never actually resolving the problem - surely the best thing in the long term (not necessarily the easiest in the short term) is to simply tell them to ask, if you say yes (quantify how much they are allowed) they can have it and if you say no they can't......if they then break your rules, say you won't buy what they have taken.

They are old enough to know, so by setting rules, if they break them, they know there is a consequence.....that is then their fault, not yours.

victory

thanks dora and shelly, no garage but shed yes so great idea but would not work unfortunately.
Dora yes brilliant but they have become gluttony sneaky as they do ask but take 2 yoghurts or ask for a biscuit and I say yes and they take sneakily 7!! I have told them I will not replace until Dec pay day so they know it is going to have to last.
I feel I will have to 'watch over them' until it calms down and they learn!
I buy school lunch items and they never seem to make it to the lunch boxes because they eat it so when it comes to school they end up having just plain sandwiches.
I keep telling them they could have nicer ones if they waited and ate less but so far I am not getting through!!! xxx

shelly

I suppose at the moment its a novelty to have so much food in the house (you said this is only the second month of monthly shopping) Maybe when they realise that you do mean it when you say "Once its gone its gone" they will settle down and not eat so much in the first week or so......or you can live in hope.

freda

Hmm.

How about they are allowed one snack - i.e. yoghurt, crisps etc - per day. You give them out, don't let them just go in the kitchen and help themselves (even if you've said they can have a snack).

If they are hungry, keep plain bread and butter or fruit always available.

Kids get kind of addicted to sugar and snacks, they have some and they want more. It really is an addiction in some kids I've seen. They're not hungry, they're wanting the instant high of the sugar (look and see how much sugar is in a yoghurt!!).

They'll soon forget about it if they are allowed as much bread and butter, or plain biscuits (i.e. crackers) if they are hungry, but no more snacks. Same with drinks, just plain water if they are thirsty, juice as a treat.

As for the sneaking into the fridge, get some tubs that are hard to open, that will fool the 6 year old. The older one (13, wasn't it?) needs to learn some restraint and get penalised (i.e. no snacks at all for a week if they nick food) if they break the rules.

Blimey, don't I sound draconian? Sorry....