I confess, I snack. Typically I have a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit mid-morning and another around 3pm. I think it is perfectly normal--and acceptable--to have a little something (preferably healthy) to tide oneself over between meals, provided, of course, that those meals aren't too hearty.
Unfortunately, my kids do not share my sense of moderation.
If they had their way, all meals would be replaced by snacks. Crinkly wrappers, cheesy crackers, little bowls of pretzels and Goldfish and Cheerios and M&Ms--these are their bite-sized tastes of heaven. They expect snacks at a playdate and demand snacks at the park. They're hungry for snacks after school and again after gymnastics practice. They want snacks in the car and snacks on the plane and snacks in front of the TV... And they want juice boxes and water bottles and milk in a sippy cup!
Can we moms band together and give this snacking thing a rest? Cars didn't used to come with cup holders. Toddlers used to manage between mealtimes without the self-serve convenience of a Snack Trap. We got water at the water fountain and snacks (if we were lucky) at snack time. There was an era before Clif Z bars and 100 calorie packs and McDonald's Snack Wraps and demands on parents to provide snacks for 90 minute events.
I'm not trying to be a Scrooge here, I'm just finding that--thanks to rampant snacking--my kids simply aren't all that hungry at lunch and dinnertime. So we're cutting way back on the snacks, only offering fruits and veggies and the occasional cheese, cracker and nut plate. And what do you know? Even our picky eater eats dinner when she's hungry.
Now if I can only figure out a polite way to ask our neighbor not to ply her with her Doritos...
Originally posted to the Chicago Moms Blog
