Children that are allowed to eat/graze constantly?

Dinosaur_Train

I hope I don't offend anyone with this post. I certainly don't mean to judge anyone, I am just curious as to whether this is how most parents feed their children?

What is your opinion on children that are allowed to eat constantly throughout the day? Do you let your children do this? I don't, but I've been speaking to a few mums recently that seem to allow their children to do this.

One mum friend from the school was saying that she allows her children unlimited fruit each day, plus other snacks, and of course their meals. She has four children and she was saying that on average they snack on one punnet of fruit EACH per day, plus other snacks such as crisps, dried fruit, cheese, biscuits, ice lollies, and then fruit and veg in their meals too. Her food bill for a family of 6 is £250 per week! I have to say I was quite gobsmacked when she told me this.

Another friend allows her 3 children to eat from the moment they get up in the morning until the moment they go to bed at night; they have cereal and toast for breakfast, often 2 or 3 bowls of cereal each, then constant snacks until lunchtime (cheese strings, crisps, crackers, fruit, biscuits), then lunch, then constant snacking until tea time, then tea, then cereal and toast before bed. She too has said that her food bill is £250+ per week, for 5 of them, and they are absolutely skint.

I've brought my kids up eating pretty much in the same eating pattern as DH and I: cereal or toast for breakfast, or sometimes beans/scrambled egg on toast, then a mid morning snack, then lunch, a mid afternoon snack after school (literally a biscuit or two, or a piece of fruit, not a whole punnet full), then their tea. They occasionally have something for supper before bed such as toast, but they rarely ask for pre-bed snacks as they eat well at tea time and don't really get hungry before bed.

I was just wondering if I am in the minority really? We never had snacks when I was growing up, maybe the occasional cake or sausage roll if my mum had done baking during the day whilst we were at school, but we were just expected to eat our meals. There just wasn't the 'snacking culture' when I was a child.

Hiddenidenity

We are abit like you, although I dont really limit fruit snacks but they'd never eat a full punnet in a day anyway. Saying that mine are 2 and 4 so maybe have smaller appetites anyway

pigpen

Mine have breakfast.. often 2 or 3 bowls of cereal or 4-6 slices of toast..

the older ones have lunch at school so a cooked meal and dessert for 2 of them. The toddlers have sandwiches, fruit and cheese or pasta and sausages/burger type thing.

They have a cooked evening meal.. twice a week they get freezer crap because we have after school activities and I can't manage to feed them anything decent before they go out and twice a week won't kill them. Usually with a yoghurt or HM cake for dessert.

Before bed they will have 1 bowl of cereal or a couple of slices of toast.

In between they have fruit they can help themselves to but after the initial 'ooh quick lets eat everything because we have free rein' frenzy feeding they do just have one or 2 pieces each per day.

I don't buy biscuits or crisps but have a fridge full of fruit and cheese and they can get toast or sandwiches if they are hungry. My 14 y/o tends to have a snack when he gets in from school too.

The only one in our house who is overweight is... me.. and then it isn't by much

For 10 of us my food bill is about £150/£200 a week.

Lunar_Eclipse

Dinosaur_Train wrote: »

I've brought my kids up eating pretty much in the same eating pattern as DH and I: cereal or toast for breakfast, or sometimes beans/scrambled egg on toast, then a mid morning snack, then lunch, a mid afternoon snack after school (literally a biscuit or two, or a piece of fruit, not a whole punnet full), then their tea. They occasionally have something for supper before bed such as toast, but they rarely ask for pre-bed snacks as they eat well at tea time and don't really get hungry before bed.

I was just wondering if I am in the minority really?

No, I think that's how all the (school age) children I know eat. Some pre-schoolers seem to graze on lots of fruit though. My children follow the same pattern: breakfast, small snack, lunch, larger snack, dinner. At the weekend, the first snack would be highly unusual since we tend to eat breakfast later.

Personally, I'm not bothered when my children eat, as long as they maintain a healthy weight and more importantly, a positive mood! Lots of fruit isn't good though due to the high levels of sugar they contain. Also, assuming people are eating because they're hungry, my children don't find fruit up to the job of keeping hunger at bay and will now reject it. We include fruit/veg as part of our meals (also better for teeth) but snacks are typically protein or complex carb based.

Some research suggests that eating smaller portions, 6 times a day is best for optimum health though.

I agree that on the whole, as a nation, we eat far too much.

balletshoes

I can certainly see why your friends food bills are so high OP!
I,m not sure that snacking culture has changed that much ~ there were usually biscuits and crisps etc in the house when i was a kid 30~plus years ago. we always had to ask before taking something, except fruit. i did the same with my dd when she was young.
surely the family which never stops snacking all day cant have much of an appetite at proper mealtimes?

flutterby_lil

No you are difinitely not in the monority, same rules in our house too.

I have a 1 year old so sometimes if I am cooking and she is screaming, a few raisins so the trick, but only a small handfull.

Dinosaur_Train

I'm glad I'm not alone! I was feeling like a total scrooge after speaking to my friends.

sweetsheep84

DS is 4. He will be quite happy to sit down eat strawberries or kiwis (yes a punnet if possible). But i dont allow him to constantly eat. He has a big appetite though. Normally weetabix for breakfast. 2 sandwiches with kiwi, tube of yoghurt, and a drink for packed lunch. Tea will normally be a home cooked meal with any veg. Hes allowed a snack after school but that will be it. Part of me think that he just says he is hungry because he is bored. So i try to keep him busy.

OP, you are not in minority really.

Lunar_Eclipse

pigpen wrote: »

Mine have breakfast.. often 2 or 3 bowls of cereal or 4-6 slices of toast..

You have to wonder how anyone can physically eat that much, don't you?

Also, that has got to be 1000 calories plus for breakfast; how much does that cost?

Lunar_Eclipse

A key thing to remember is that a lot of people think/say they are hungry when in actual fact they are just thirsty.

Threebabes

My dd who is 9 would graze all day but I put my foot down. She can manage from breakfast to lunch to tea at school, so why not at a weekend. If the kids are allowed to graze all day, arent they too full up for their meals?

My DD who is now 13, she used to be a picker, but I put a stop to that too.