Do you give your kids an after school snack?

[RCT]

we are having a delima here in our house, my kids get off the bus at 4:00 pm everyday....I give them a small glass of milk and a snack, like a ceral bar, or two cookies....something small...dh has decided that since the last few nights at dinner we have complained that we are not hungry (which isn't really the case they just don't care for what I have made) that we should stop the snack in the afternoon....fine...I am still giving them a glass of milk...its just that I grew up with an after school snack...doesn't everyone have one??? OK I see his point...but old habits die hard.....:lol: would love your input on this...

[KarlaB]

My dks get a snack, but then again sometimes it seems like they are eating all day! :) Doesn't seem to affect their appetites if they have a snack before supper....oldest ds can eat a good meal and still be asking for a snack an hour later...what am I going to do when he's a teen? :rolleyes: :lol:

It'll be interesting too see how other's dks are with this. :)

[Diane]

When I had school aged kids I always had a snack waiting for them when they came home from school... but this was at 2:45 and not 4:00, which IS awfully close to dinner time. I think with the bus not dropping them off until late like this I would probably forget about the snack and go for an earlier supper and save the snack for just before bedtime. Just a thought.

Diane... :wave:

[AnnW]

My kids would shoot me if they didn't have an afternoon snack..the come home starving!!!!!!!!!

Are your kids truly hungry or is it just the ritual and memory you like? If they are hungry try to find a lighter snack, perhaps move dinner back 1/2 hour.

[PamE]

I can't give my kids snacks at any time, or they won't eat at the next meal. :( I didn't have snacks much as a child (that I remember anyway, lol!) so maybe I was the same way. I found that out early on with my oldest dd. Everyone said she had to have a snack between meals but when I did that she wouldn't eat anything at the next meal. So I figured I'd rather have her meals be her meals rather than her snacks. If that makes any sense whatsoever, LOL!!! :p

[RCT]

LOL....yes that made sense PamE.....

AnnW your right its a fond memory and like Diane stated we got home no later than 3:15.....

Karla, your lucky that snacks don't affect them....good eaters huh?

so we did milk after school today...they ate all thier dinner...we eat around 6 and now they are starting to read to daddy....interesting...my kids are funny about food they are picky and sometimes hungry and some times not..very strange....oh yeah thier my kids...:biglaugh:.....thanks for all your input...

[KarlaB]

Originally posted by RCT
Karla, your lucky that snacks don't affect them....good eaters huh?

It sounds like I am pretty lucky that they are such good eaters, but actually I wonder how long we'll be able to afford to feed them. :newwink: And, wouldn't you know tonight is the night they are both refusing to eat - "It's yucky." :rolleyes:

[RCT]

Originally posted by KarlaB


And, wouldn't you know tonight is the night they are both refusing to eat - "It's yucky." :rolleyes:


ROFL :lol: I call that mommies law....LOL...:biglaugh:

[JAK]

My dks get home at about 3:45 and I do let them have a snack. Usually they eat whatever is leftover in their lunchboxes. For some reason they don't always finish their lunch. I usually don't have a problem with either of them eating dinner unless it's something they don't like.

[MaryL]

My kids always went to a Family Day Care provider that was not big on snacks...subsequently, my kids really don't ask for them. They eat good meals. We have lunch early at our school (about 11:00), so when we get home between 3:30/4:00, they are hungry. I just make supper earlier and we eat about 5:00 p.m. They go to bed at about 7:30 on school nights, so the 5:00 time works out fine. If they actually ask for a snack (rare), I usually provide something small. On special nights I let them have popcorn while watching a movie...or lately, on Survivor night. I guess I'm not against snacks...just not accustomed to them. I do have my Kindergarten kids have a snack each day. They pack their own snacks (at home) and you would be amazed at what some families call a "snack". My ds will have a piece of string cheese...while another little boy will have a whole ham sandwich!

[Linda/NE]

I was just talking with our babysitter about this subject yesterday. Her daughter (5) was so hungry afterschool one day (around 3:30) that she got her a chicken sandwich from McDonalds. Then at 6 or 7 she ate supper with the family and still wanted a snack before going to bed.

We were discussing it having to do with growth spurts. With my own kids they get home around 3:45 on days I don't work and 4:30 or 5 when I do work. We do have snacks mainly because I'm usually starving by then! Of course we rarely have supper before 7 PM but then they don't get any 'bed snack' when we eat that late. I've found with my older boys that having a snack makes it easier for them to concentrate on homework (which immediately follows a snack).

I have noticed during the summer that the kids don't eat meals as well regardless of whether they had a snack or not. I think it's just too hot or they just aren't growing at the time.

[Lynda/WA]

DS gets home at 3:50 and both kids have a snack then. About 75% of the time it's a piece of fresh fruit. Otherwise a yogurt or a PB&J sandwich. The way I see it, if they are eating something healthy is it really all that important if its eaten separate from the meal? We generally eat late. Frequently 7 or even later. DH doesn't get home any earlier. We don't do dessert or bedtime snacks. Occasionally a bowl of ice cream but not very often.

I think you need to decide what's right for your family. Not only that but also for each child. I really think what they eat is way more important then when or even how much. In fact I emphasize to them to eat when you're hungry not because the clock says to. I've often heard that eating 5 smaller meals is better then 3 larger ones.

[Diane]

I really think it depends upon what they have eaten for lunch. Most kids really don't eat very much because they're too busy talking or goofing around with their friends. I knew a lady that worked in the cafeteria at the school and she said you wouldn't BELIEVE the waste. The kids throw a lot of food away. Also, I would think it would depend upon what time they ate lunch. One year my dd's lunch time was at 11:00... by the time she got home from school she was starving. Another year her lunch time wasn't until 12:35 and so she wasn't as hungry. Also... my kids always buy their lunches at school (they get to pick what they want) and never take a bag lunch. I don't know if that makes a difference but I was thinking that maybe they'd eat more seeing it was a hot lunch vs. a cold lunch?

Diane... :wave: