Five smart hacks for when the kids get a snack attack
AS WE move into what feels like our millionth week of ISO, you may have noticed your children seem to be asking for a lot more snacks than they usually do.
Here are some easy ways to take control of excessive snacking in your home.
1. Pack the snacks in advance: As children are used to structure and routine when they are at daycare and school, maintaining this routine and structure, especially in the food space, will go a long way in keeping eating controlled through the long days.
Whether you pack an entire lunchbox for the day as you usually would, or specifically set aside a set number of snacks for each child, it will help to avoid the constant requests for extra snacks throughout the day.
2. Stick to a schedule: The greatest ally you have when it comes to eating at home is the clock and assigning snack and meal times will help to avoid the debate with children about whether they can eat or not.
In this example, when a child asks for a snack you can point to the clock and say not until 11am or not until 3pm, or at afternoon tea, as opposed to a “no”, which can be more challenging to defend.
3. Keep snacks out of sight: Human beings will eat what foods are readily available to them, which means if you keep appealing snack food in easy view, the kids (and you) will be more tempted to seek them out and eat them. On the other hand, if you keep easy-tograb snacks in containers and packed away so that they are not in eyesight, the entire family will be less likely to eat them.
4. Implement the ultimate hunger test: People, including children rarely eat because they are really hungry, rather we eat because tempting foods are available, others are eating or because it is a programmed meal time.
So as a simple test of hunger, when your child tells you they are hungry, offering them a low-calorie food such as a carrot or cucumber will quickly tell you if they are actually hungry. And if they do accept a low-calorie veg snack, their health will only benefit as a result.
5. Keep the mindless munching bowl handy: At this challenging time, we can all be forgiven for wanting to self soothe with food even when we are not hungry.
Keeping some low-calorie snacks such as popcorn, berries and chopped vegetables on hand to munch on in between meals will mean as a parent you always have food to offer your little ones when they claim to be hungry, but ensures they will not overdo the calories if they are mindless munching as opposed to feeling genuinely hungry.
Susie Burrell, kidspot.com.au