Rationing snack foods in your house?

[Hannathy]

While a lot of these tricks will work with a 5 yr old do note the OP child is 16! If they can't eat at home they will simply go to someone else's house and while saving money for the OP it becomes quite tedious for the other parents to always be feeding another teen. They will "hang" out at a friends house instead of home if snacks are hard to get and I would rather have mine home. They also will just go buy their own snacks and I would rather have my DD using her money for better things than food.

By 16 the child needs to be self regulating concerning food because your time to do it is over and they really will be totally out of your control within 2 years and during these years there are a lot bigger battles and problems I'm concerned with than snacks.

 

[deerhart]

I've got two high metabolism, hyperactive boys. They eat all day long. I can buy 15 lbs of fruit on Saturday and by Monday or Tuesday its about all gone! So I do end up spending $15-$20 a week on produce (bananas, apples, pears, carrots, oranges.. what ever is on sale for about $1 a lb or less)

We keep fruit, crackers, popcorn, fruit snacks (for school), carrots (they eat them whole I don't have to slice them), peanut butter, jelly, bread, and cheerios as staples for them to eat in between meals.

So you really have to look at your kids and what they are doing, what they are eating, etc.. We really cracked odwn on snacks right before dinner 9because then they wouldn't eat) and right after dinner (when they didn't eat dinner) because it was more turning their nose up on dinner and then going for something they liked better.

 

[katied]

When DNiece and DNephew came to live with us (ages 13 and 11) we had to address this right away.

The very quick solution - no snack size things, no real junk food, etc. is purchased in the house, and cannot be eaten by the kids. Any snack size stuff to to take out/travel with, not to eat in the house.

We always have fruit in the house - apples, pears, bannanas, oranges, etc. So, first choice is always a piece of fruit and glass of milk. If that is not enough before dinner, the kids can make PB&J and split - so each have 1/2 sandwich. Similarly, they can make a cheese or lunch meat sandwich and each have 1/2 sandwich.

The key is we do not have "easy" food around for the kids to just munch on. THey have to put the effort in and eat something a bit healthier. We then always have dinner as a family, and they are expected to eat and not have spoiled their appetatie with snacks.

This may seem extereme, but its best for all of us not to fill up on junk food all the time, even in 100 calorie packets. Once in a while, we'll have a treat - such as popcorn for a Friday night movie night at home, or some junk food while watching Sunday football, etc. But this is always with us present and supervising.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

The key is we do not have "easy" food around for the kids to just munch on. THey have to put the effort in and eat something a bit healthier.

Thanks everyone! Yes, my kids are older and many times home for an hour or 2 before DH and I are. Both kids are in sports off and on throughout the year and taller than me! We do dinner together every night around 5:30 or so.

I completely agree with 100 cals is probably not enough for these guys! What was I thinking? Oh, I was thinking about me Of course they're eating more than that...

I like the idea of snacks that take some effort for them to prepare, like popping popcorn, making a PB&J, cutting up fruit. NO more teeny expensive (even w/ coupons...which I love - shout out to coupon train buddies!) bags. *duh*

thanks for helping me see the light!

 

[GoinToDisney]

You might try to teach them to add some protein in their snacks, so if they have a piece of fruit or some pretzels, they should have some cheese too. That will keep them satisfied longer.

 

[MSSANDRA]

You simply need to change the snacks you have in the house afterschool. Many kids are starving when the come home from school. For many girls eating lunch is not cool and they come home not eating all day!!

100 calorie pack type foods are VERY expensive and they are in no way filling up hungry kids after school. Talk to you kids about snack time and then fill the kitchen with healthy/ filling foods that suit you both. Sorry, but when you have kids it just cost money to feed them.

Look at buying low fat pop corn, whole grain crackers/ string cheese/ fruit/ raw veggie/dip, muffins, skim milk,etc.

consider leaving them leftovers such as pizza or meat for sandwiches, pasta etc.

Talk with them about snack time in relation to dinner time. If they are over weight you may need to make some adjustments but most kids are just hungry after school and need good healthy filling food!!!

 

[badblackpug]

I realize the Op's kids are older, but my 9 year old will eat mindlessly, all day if it was allowed. If there are chips or cookies in the house, he will eat them, whether he is hungry or not. The solution is I just don't have them. I keep lots of fruit and veggies, string cheese, unbuttered popcorn. I think for the Op maybe offering a snack that is more filling such as a PB&J (no sugar preserves on whole wheat) or lean deli meat and cheese rather than offering the smaller "convenience" snacks is a better idea. (also be careful about some yogurts some are high in calories/sugar/fat) I buy large bags of baby carrots and low fat ranch, apples, oranges, bananas. and grapes. My kids also like peanut butter and celery. I found the same problem with the 100 calorie snacks, they just eat more than one! I try to eat very healthy, chips and cookies are only an occasional treat, but I guess this misfires, too, because when they do get them they tend to over indulge.

 

[tttessa]

Hiya -

we find the same problem - so I don't buy snack stuff any more (our grocery bill has REALLY gone down...) - the kids have a glass of water when they get home (sometimes hunger signals get confused with thirst!) and then if they are hungry they have a sandwich on rye/wholewheat bread or a bit of fruit which keeps them full till dinner. If they are "not hungry for a sandwich" or fruit - then they don't NEED to eat. We have treats too, don't get me wrong, but not daily, and not to feed hunger.

Tessa

 

[DawnM]

I limit the kinds of snacks my kids can have, but I don't limit amounts, unless it is close to dinner.

I do not buy ind. packets as they are far more expensive, and I don't buy sugar snacks (we do allow one portioned by us dessert per evening meal), so I don't have on hand the things you have mentioned.

Some of the snacks my kids eat regularly:

Air popped popcorn
rice with soy sauce
toast with butter
leftovers from the previous night
PB/Jelly sandwich or on crackers
any fruit or veggies they want
(they can have ranch for veggies)

 

[luvsJack]

When my sons were teens, I just quit thinking of "snack" items after school and they had mini-meals (well, sometimes actual meals). They would make a sandwich (or two), pizza (frozen or made with small pre-made crusts), a hamburger, or heat up left overs from the fridge.

I have always kept fruit and raw veggies but these would be the things they would grab while fixing the sandwich, pizza or burger!

I don't believe in making anything "off limits" because I have seen too many kids over indulge when they do get it. The reason for the way we did things was just the simple need to fill up two bottom less stomachs! There were snack items around but when they got home from school they wanted "FOOD".

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My kids and DH would snack me out of house and home. DD10 gets bored and eats even though she gots tons of toys, art stuff, and pets to play with, DH eats all the time because it's a habit, DS14 is the good one, he snacks until full and then goes on his way.

I hide the cookies I buy or make to put in the kids lunches for a treat, otherwise they'd be gone in a day.

The snacks that are out are: yogurt, bagel bites (DS14's fav. snack), fruit and veg's, popcorn, cheese cubes. And DH eats bread, just plain bread all the time. At least it's cheap.

Occasionally I'll buy some sort of fruit snack or fruit by the foot when it's on sale. And pretzels when they are on sale.

 

[dis-happy]

Buy a box of ramen noodles (or cup of soup ramen). Tell them to eat that first; at least it will fill them up a bit.

My kids are allowed one pre-packaged snack a day and one yogurt a day. Otherwise everything would be gone in 2 days! They can have fruit and carrots when they want, and any dinner leftovers in the fridge are open season (nothing like a teenage boy to clear out your leftovers).

Good luck!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Buy a box of ramen noodles (or cup of soup ramen). Tell them to eat that first; at least it will fill them up a bit.
My kids are allowed one pre-packaged snack a day and one yogurt a day. Otherwise everything would be gone in 2 days! They can have fruit and carrots when they want, and any dinner leftovers in the fridge are open season (nothing like a teenage boy to clear out your leftovers).

Good luck!

I would rather sell my bloomers to pay for food then suggest my kids eat Ramen noodles to fill up. That stuff is pure junk.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

My suggestion would be to just not buy the snacks. It sounds like you are buying a lot at one time...why? Perhaps buy fruit/veggies and tell them they have to last for x amount of time. When the snack items are gone, don't buy more until you said you would. I'm sure our children would snack all day long if we'd let them, but we wouldn't let them. It's not a big issue - we just tell them that we'll have a good meal at breakfast/lunch (when not in school)/dinner and they'll need to wait until then.

 

[dis-happy]

I would rather sell my bloomers to pay for food then suggest my kids eat Ramen noodles to fill up. That stuff is pure junk.

How about a box of whole wheat pasta and some organic sauce then? Whatever works for you! We keep both in the house and my teens can cook up either.

 

[KateMW]

I am sorry but I cannot stand the whole food rationing thing. Sometimes kids are simply hungry. Yes, food is expensive but you know that when you have kids that you have to feed them. If you make a lot of things instead of buying pre-made and you buy on sale snacks, fruits, etc. then it is not a big deal. No child should be made to feel bad because they eat and it is expensive. That is just so wrong on so many levels imo. How would you as an adult feel if your spouse told you that you could only have 2 snacks a day and if you are hungry then too bad? I am not picking on you but this stuff makes me nuts.

But are they eating their real meals? That's my question. There is a difference between being hungry and snacking because you can.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I have a 13 year old DS, I feel for you going through food!

In our house, the few prepackaged things I buy are designated for lunches or "travel snacks" (eg we've got dance to scouts and won't be home, snack on the go). They are just for convenience, not every day. There are plenty of other options at home.

Fruit, veggies, pretzels, crackers, popcorn (I do get microwave, but airpopped even better), a bowl of cereal {something healthy}, cheese cubes or as a PP said on a tortilla, peanut butter toast or English muffins are all fair game at any time, relatively healthy, and fairly inexpensive in regular packaging (not snack sizes). DS can eat any of these whenever. DD9 gets to pick one afterschool (because she won't eat supper if she has more than that.)

 

[DawnM]

I do ration.....not portions of quality food served, but junk food is most certainly rationed!

It is not about money, it is about health.

Noone is suggesting starvation of anyone.

Dawn

I am sorry but I cannot stand the whole food rationing thing. Sometimes kids are simply hungry. Yes, food is expensive but you know that when you have kids that you have to feed them. If you make a lot of things instead of buying pre-made and you buy on sale snacks, fruits, etc. then it is not a big deal. No child should be made to feel bad because they eat and it is expensive. That is just so wrong on so many levels imo. How would you as an adult feel if your spouse told you that you could only have 2 snacks a day and if you are hungry then too bad? I am not picking on you but this stuff makes me nuts.

 

[disfan07]

The problem with a lot of these suggestions about set snack time, etc. is that these suggestions are coming from people with elementray age children.
It doesnt work teh same with highschoolers.

If a 16 year old with money and a car is hungry, they will go get food themselves adn a lot of times, not as healthy as whats in the house. Even if they dont have a car, if they are within walking distance to teh store, ro fast food palce, they will walk adn get something to eat. A 6 or 10 year old is not going to do the same thing.

I think the best suggestion is really just to make sure there are healthy adn filling snack.
When my brother was a teenager his favorite things to eat afterschool were:
leftovers
sandwiches
macaroni and cheese
pasta
grilled cheese
soup

Basically, he was having a second lunch. I dont knwo what the school schedule is like for your kids but for us it was:
school starts at 7:15AM (eat breakfast at like 6-6:15)
lunch was between 10:30 and noon (my brother and I usually had 10:30 or 11:00 lunch)
school ends at 2:30....by the time we got out o fteh parking lot and got home it was about 3:30

That would be 5 hours between lunch and when we got home. I was always hungry for a snack but my brotehr was always ready for a second lunch. and he would be hungry again for dinner around 6:30-7PM. And he is and always has been skinny as a rail adn he would eat us out of house and home.

 

[momx2]

I'm sorry, but I can't imagine having an 11 and 13 year old split a sandwich as a snack as someone posted on here. My DD12 is very active and very fit. She easily polishes off a sandwich when she gets home from school. I do keep the 100 calorie packs as snacks to take to school. My DDs are pretty good about only using them for that, most of the time. I also keep deli meats, cheese sticks, peanut butter, fruits and veggies as snacks. Both my girls are starving when they get home. They each eat something every day and then they eat their dinner around 6.

If they are not overweight and eating the right things, there is no reason to limit their snacking as long as it doesn't interfer with dinner.