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Parenting

08th Jun 2023

Mum shares hack to keep kids from eating snacks all day over summer holidays

Clodagh McKeon

Mum Jen shared her genius way of keeping the kids out of the snack press.

It’s no secret that keeping children entertained over the Summer holidays is a task in itself.

However, keeping them entertained and away from the treat press is a different story altogether.

One mum shared her trick on how to keep your children from eating sweets all day over the Summer break and many parents are impressed with the results.

In a post shared over three years ago, Jen revealed how she teaches her kids to appreciate their daily snacks and understand that once they’re gone, they’re gone.

The post has gone viral once again and it now has over 289,000 likes and over 460,000 shares.

Jen posted a photo of three different coloured baskets, one for each of her kids, that each have snacks in them.

She wrote: “I keep seeing these posts about kiddos wanting to eat all day while they are home. This was my solution! Each child has their own coloured basket.

“In the morning I put their snacks in it for the day, when those snacks are gone they don’t get any more. It makes them stop and think do I really need a snack?

“I also put their cup for the day in there because I’m not washing 50 cups a day!”

Absolute genius.

Jen’s followers shared their tips and they’re just as clever..

This is the perfect way to teach children that being at home all day doesn’t mean you get to eat all day.

It’s clearly worked very well for mum Jen and judging from the comments left under her post, she’s helped a lot of other parents.

One comment read: “Nailed itttt!!!”

Another of Jen’s supporters said: “I need to do this because my boy would snack all day out of boredom and then not want to eat meals it drives me nuts.”

This follower was keen to try it out for herself.

She wrote: “Love this! I HATE that I have let the kids fall into the habit of getting their own snacks throughout the day. Might give this a shot while I am at home!”

Others took to the comments to share their ideas on how to solve the snacking problem in their houses. This person shared a very good idea that most parents loved too.

They said: “Awesome idea! We do a menu! I had to do something to keep the kiddos from eating all of our groceries in a few days when we were homeschooling. So, back to that system we go!”

A menu for food at home – brilliant!

Jen added to her Facebook post to clarify that her children do in fact eat breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as these snacks.

The food in these baskets are for when the kids get a bit peckish throughout the day, it’s clever.

Fair play Jen.

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