Rationing snack foods in your house?

[KateMW]

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.

I agree with this 100%

 

[Alesia]

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.

I agree, but I think that many of the people posting on this thread have much younger children. Either they don't realize that the OP's kids are teenagers, or they don't realize how many more calories a teenagers needs in a day.

 

[Hannathy]

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.

Yes!! I have said the same thing since the beginning of this thread!!!! These are not little kids getting their snacks handed out by Mommy. These are independent thinking and acting people. They don't wait on Mom to get a snack, they better be self sufficient by then or heaven help them!


PS about the Ramen, now come on How does any one get thru college without eating Ramen!!!

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids grab a snack from the snack drawer after school (either pre-packaged, or snack bags I made up). If they are still hungry, they can have fruit, which is always available. My three little ones are very, very skinny, my 11 year old a little chubby (BMI - at risk), and my dd13 normal (she has the metabolism of the younger ones, but LOVES to eat, which is why she is normal). My oldest has more free-range with snacking, but I do call her on it, since she tends to eat when she's bored. Ds11 has no problem eating fruit when he's still hungry (a few apples!).

 

[mjkacmom]

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.

My younger ones are getting snacks from the snack drawer. Dd13 has a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast, maybe some fries at lunch (she doesn't like the food at school, doesn't eat sandwiches, and has no time to go to her locker before or after lunch), and is starving when she gets home from school. She usually heats up a can of soup.

 

[Kit'smommy]

DH, DS and I are all grazers. We do eat regular meals, but we snack alot. We also are very active and are all pretty thin.

We tend to eat nuts, popcorn, veggies with dressing, fruit, cheese, yogurt, PBJs, homemade soup frozen in small quanties, deli meats, pretzles and sometimes chocolate or homemade cookies.

We avoid most light and 100 calorie packs of things as they are expensive and often have really terrible ingredients as others have said.

One thing that really helps turn off the hunger switch is to make sure to have some protein and fats in each snack. Adding a slice of cheddar or some peanut butter to an apple will make it much more filling.

One favorite in our house is smoothies. We often buy very ripe bananas and berries and chop them up and freeze them. This way we can still whip up a smoothie when all the other fresh fruit is gone. A banana and a handful of blueberries or strawberries along with some milk or OJ and a little vanilla and ice makes a yummy drink that is filling and still nutrious.

 

[U2_rocks!]

Adding a handful of nuts (preferably not too salty) to a snack adds protein, and helps keep kids full as well. Almonds are a great choice, though my kids prefer cashews.

If they are drinking lots of water or milk that also helps (not juice - too much sugar even in the all natural ones).