15 Sep What To Do When Your Kids Want to Eat All Day Long

I was sitting quietly, filling out some paperwork at my desk, when I heard her approach. My sweet, curly-blonde three year old tapped on my shoulder and said, “Mama, can I have an apple?”

I looked at the clock. It was approximately 9:00 a.m.

We had finished eating breakfast at 8:30 a.m.

I looked at my daughter carefully. “I’m sorry, honey. We just ate breakfast so you are going to have to wait awhile before we have a snack, ok?”

Apparently, it was not o.k. Apparently, I was requesting the impossible.

She began scream and yell and throw a full on tantrum: “I’m HUNGRY! I want an apple NOW!”

I picked her up quietly and carried her to her room, where I told her she needed to calm down before she could re-enter – um- life.

A Mothering Epiphany

I took a time-out with her by going to my bed and laying down for a moment to think through this scenario. Why? This type of event had occurred way more times than I could count over the summer and I was tired of it. I needed to come up with a clear plan of action to eliminate the persistent arguing over when the kids could eat.

A few years back, I listened to a book on CD called “Bringing Up Bebe.” I basically walked away from that book with one major take-away – we as Americans can learn a thing or two from the way the French parent.

One of the items of particular interest to me was that the French didn’t let their kids snack all day every day whenever they wanted food.

The French kids ate when their parents ate – breakfast, lunch, tea time (4pm) and dinner. And they were fine with that.

They also ate what was being served, which covered a very wide variety of culinary tastes and cuisines. Apparently, the French do not allow for picky eaters.

Instituting a New Eating Schedule

Perhaps I’m not as hard-core as the French, but I can certainly set regular eating times that are reasonable and stick with them.

So we had the talk. I sat my girls down and shared our new eating schedule:

Breakfast at 8 a.m.

Snack at 10 a.m.

Lunch at 12-1pm

Snack at 3 p.m.

Dinner at 6 p.m.

I shared with them that our refrigerator would no longer be a revolving door. I said that they were not allowed to ask me for food if it was not at one of these normal eating times.

I also helped them understand the “why” behind our new eating routine. I told them that if they know at 8 a.m. that there will not be an opportunity to eat again until 10 a.m., they will eat a full breakfast instead of nibbling at it and then requesting something else 40 minutes later.

I also brought in the example of “the real world.” I said, “When Daddy goes to work, he doesn’t take 10 snack breaks. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get anything done. He takes meals at normal times and might bring a snack with him if he knows it will be awhile before he’ll have the chance to eat again.”

Report: It is Working!!!

We are now two weeks in to our new eating schedule and I have good news: It is working!

My kids actually enjoy planning out what they will have for their snack at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. And (this is the best part) they do not bother me anymore for food in between those times.

I have stopped feeling like a grinch who is denying food and we have stopped arguing about when they can have snacks. They understand what they need to eat at meals so that they will be able to continue strong until snack time.

How are meals and snacks dished out in your home? Do your kids know what to expect in terms of when they can request food?

If you feel like I did a few weeks ago, that your kids seem to be hungry all day long and your fridge door is constantly opening and closing, maybe it’s time to take a tip from the French and set some new boundaries. I’m glad I did!