Not eating supper

[Dreamalittledream]

I've had parents complain (& I find with my own 3 year old) that they are not hungry for supper at all. As well, parents often ask for recipes of things I make as they cannot get their kids to eat at home (often to no success, they don't eat things at home that they do eat here...I totally understand that). I would imagine that on weekends parents do not stop in the day to give all the meals we serve @ daycare...breakfast, am snack, lunch, aft snack....no wonder they're not hungry at supper time. I've given up battling with my 3 year old to get him to eat supper, he has a healthy snack with his brothers just after daycare (in the midst of after school chaos/meltdown when all of my own children are hungry and want dinner RIGHT NOW!). Any suggestions? Should I be serving less @ snack & lunch; small, measured portions and that's it...no seconds/thirds? Should I cut out the after school 'chaos' snack? If so, how do you deal with that time of day?

[BrightEyes]

I would continue lunch as-is but I would cut out the after school "chaos" snack for younger children, have them eat their snack around 3pm. When the older children come home they will need a snack but just something small and light to hold them off until dinner.

I don't have advice for the chaos though....sorry!

[playfelt]

I cut my snacks way back to the point of being a drink and a cracker and that is it. One due to the amount of time it was taking to get everyone up, served and washed up. Also I have kids picked up starting at 4 and they dont' get up til after 3 so by the time we do diapers and get beds put away we dont' have a lot of time either for some.

Once I stopped serving so much snack they ate a much better lunch. For sure if they are getting the servings of food at snacks then limit lunch in the sense of saving a serving of each food group for supper and if that means limiting seconds/thirds then you should or they are truly overeating calorie wise and that is not good for them.

I want my kids to experience the feeling of getting hungry and then eating a meal to satisfy that. By constantly giving them food every couple hours they never get that sensation. But having a drink is important even if it is water but milk or juice helps to stave off the whines and poor behaviour just before mealtime.

[kidlove]

I would maybe give less at lunch, if you are allowing thirds. I usually give a nice sized portion for their age and IF they clear their entire plate maybe an item or two to follow but not a second full portion. I also do a snack in the pm especially for those who are coming from school, seems they are famished by the time they arrive, however, what I offer is small and sensible no big snacks and nothing too filling. I will cut up a plate of apples and offer a cup of milk, or veggies of some sort, but a small snack is important for pm... I do not like the fact that a child could go home with Mom and Dad and not want the only meal they have together. Their is nothing wrong with kids being hungry. I think too many people don't set limits for kids. perfect example, when we make cookies I will give one or two to each child depending on their age, say 1-2 years will get one nice sized choc chip cookie and a drink, and 3 and older can have 2 cookies....I think that is reasonable, the amount of sugar is clearly more than they need, yet certain ones (who I know eat until they are full at home) will ask and ask for more. Nope, what I give is what I give, you eat to survive, to feed your body, you don't eat to feel full.

[Mamma_Mia]

I wouldn't cut back on lunch but pm-snack...making it something small like 10 "goldfish" crackers... around 3-3:30. That should get them to be hungry by the time it's their dinner....5:30-6pm-ish, no?

[Inspired by Reggio]

I serve snack/meals at regular 3 hour intervals so around 9, noon and 3 pm give or take half hour depending on the day ... children are free to eat what they need to feel 'full' during that time the only thing I limit is 'processed carbs' ... they can eat as much fruit, veggies and protein as they see fit and some of my crew can eat a whole chicken breast at lunch time!

IME it is not uncommon for children to not eat in the evening and only nibble at things ... they do this because they innately know what is best for their bodies if we did not mess with it by forcing them to eat when not hungry and screwing with their 'cues'.

Reality is it is actually healthier for us to eat our main or big meal at LUNCH because as we head into the evening we are typically winding down how much calories we expend and preparing for sleep and our metabolism knows that so it 'needs less' calories at that time of day so that the body can focus on 'regeneration' during sleep time instead of having to focus on 'digestion' that it often has to with the big meals we tend to eat so close to bed time in our society

[Momof4]

I make a huge lunch but I only serve a couple of small things for snacktime so it doesn't ruin their supper. Today we had some apple slices and a few nacho chips. A few other examples are a few slices of cheese and crackers with a few grapes, or a mini yogurt and some blueberries. How much are you giving them at snacktime?

[Dreamalittledream]

I make a huge lunch but I only serve a couple of small things for snacktime so it doesn't ruin their supper. Today we had some apple slices and a few nacho chips. A few other examples are a few slices of cheese and crackers with a few grapes, or a mini yogurt and some blueberries. How much are you giving them at snacktime?

Today's snacks: Wheat crackers, fruit and a bit of yogurt to dip in in the A.M./veggies & dip and cheese breadsticks in the afternoon. I usually keep serving them more and more snack until they say they're done...today, I made each serving and proclaimed them done when that serving was done...boy did I get some looks! My son ate a much better supper tonight; I anticipate the same for my daycare little ones.

[Momof4]

Oh good for you Dream! You are the one who is in charge after all! I hope you've solved your problem.

[cfred]

Yes! As Momof4 said, you're in charge. When I was in daycare centres, snacks were pretty meager. Really, just enough to keep their blood sugar up till the end of the day. Like you, my snacks are preset. They get a specific amount of whatever it is and that's it. Today it was apple/cinnamon muffins loaded with quinoa. They inhaled them and wanted more, but that is more than enough snack for a little one to hold them over till dinner. Having the snack preset also makes for less waste and more haste in setting it up. You can have it all dished up in individual dishes by the end of nap and ready to go as soon as bum changes are over. Soooo much easier!