I don’t know how my kids never starved to death back when they were still in school during the day.
I mean; judging by how flipping hungry they are these days, I don’t know how just one packed lunch managed to sustain them during a school day.
Honestly. I feel like I am doing little else in between my attempts at homeschooling but serve up constant sandwiches/yoghurts/granola bars/cut-up fruits. Sounds familiar? I think there is a lot of us in the same boat.
However, having chatted to a friend of mine recently, the whole snacking thing came up, and my friend, who happens to be a primary school teacher, mentioned something that actually ended up helping me out big-time with this whole constant eating thing.
“Remember that when the kids are in school, they are on a strict schedule,” my friend said. “As well as that, they have their lunchbox, and that is it – there is no easy access to food outside of this, like there is at home.”
It got me thinking and realising this is so true. Children are used to the structure and routine that the schoolday provides, and much as we have curated somewhat of a routine to our days at home, it is still not the same.
“Try packing a lunchbox for the day at home too,’ my teacher friend suggested. “Or at least set up a little snack area in the fridge or on the kitchen counter, and agree that this is their snack for the entire day. And once that is gone, it is gone. This might just help avoid the constant requests for extra snacks throughout the day.”
DIY snack clock
After my conversation with my friend, I actually sat down and drew up a ‘day at home’ plan that I glued to the dining room wall. I marked off main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and also scheduled in a snack at 11am and one at 3pm.
And then, more so as a visual aid for my 6-year-old, I also quickly DIY-ed a clock that I hung beside it, marking off all the hours, and drawing a little plate with food beside the main meaks, and an apple and yoghurt pot beside the hours of 11am and 3pm, to let him know when snack time is.
As well as this, I tidied one area of the fridge, and organised it to hold yoghurts and fruits and homemade granola bars – in other words, a little ‘snack station’ where the kids can help themselves to healthy snacks when snack time rolls around.
The benefit of keeping these inside the fridge is that they are a little bit more out of sight than if they were left on the counter.
Tell us – have YOU got any great ideas to control the constant snacking? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @herfamilydotie
