When I was a kid, I ate breakfast at home, lunch at school and then went to softball practice before riding my bike home for dinner – a meal I was good and ready to eat. We had dessert afterward – a bowl of ice cream, a couple cookies with a glass of milk - but once the kitchen was cleaned, it was closed for the night.
On the other hand, my 9-year-old and his friends eat all day long. He eats breakfast but then he packs a Ziploc of Chex Mix and some baby carrots into his backpack for snack time at 10:30 a.m. School starts at 8:45 a.m. and lunch is at 12:30 p.m., but apparently he and his classmates can't hold out that long.
Sawyer has a snack after school at 3:30 p.m. and sometimes again when I pick him up at 5. Funny that he doesn't eat much at dinner at 6:30 p.m. Still, as his 8:30 p.m. bedtime nears, he's STARVING and needs to eat again.
He's so thin that he needs a belt to keep last summer’s shorts up, but I marvel at the amount of food he eats in the course of a day. Between peanuts in his backpack and granola bars in his pocket, he’s never more than an arm’s reach from a snack.
Just in case of a snack attack, one of my friends keeps an industrial-size container of pretzels from Costco in her car for her kids. Another has a purseful of Cheese-It. And there’s a bag of almonds on my dashboard. Hungry, anyone?
Karina Bland is raising her 9-year-old son in Tempe with a lot of love, humor and support from her friends and family. A longtime journalist covering child welfare and education issues for The Arizona Republic, she blogs about raising good kids.
I've noticed this with my
I've noticed this with my kids too, especially my son who is super skinny. When I really disect their diets, I've found that they mainly exist on carbs (granola bars, fruit, etc.) and don't get enough protein. I'm really trying harder now to find more protein rich snacks, and it's a challenge. Anyone have any good ideas on this front?
DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com
School meals (both breakfast
School meals (both breakfast and lunch) today don't pack the calorie wallop they did when we were kids. We also consumed a lot more empty calories (anybody up for a ding dong and a non-diet Coke?) Remember the cup of white sugar we used to pour into a half-gallon of Kool-Aid, and the 3-6 glasses of whole milk we'd drink every day?
Darn it. Now I have a craving for Hostess cupcakes.
My son likes hummus(source
My son likes hummus(source of protein and fiber, 2 things most kids lack these days) with whole wheat(homemade) pita chips. I like the Alternative brand at Sprouts because they have more protein and fiber than regular pitas and taste great. Low fat string cheese is also good source of protein for growing kids and parents alike. Also, plain bean and cheese burritos with a little salsa are a great combo of fiber, protein and carbs!
Agreed. The days I try to
Agreed. The days I try to live off granola bars and Cheez-its, I'm ravenous. I've noticed the same with my kids. I have little ones, and constant snacking drives me crazy (since I have to get it out and clean it up). I've noticed if I feed my kids eggs in the morning they are satisfied until lunch.
Brooke Romney is an unbalanced mom of three young boys who constantly has too much to do, and too little time. She writes the Mom Beat column for The Gilbert Republic.
I was talking with a
I was talking with a girlfriend about this the other day. I mentioned that we ate later than usual and they were starving. They were quiet as they chowed down on their dinners. My girlfriend pointed out that they snack all day long, unlike when we were young. What a concept. My girls are thin too, especially my 9 year old. I thought to myself - hey I should starve them more often......
KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.
today: 6:30: Cream of wheat
today: 6:30: Cream of wheat - two servings plus a glass of milk. 10:00 grapes and mandarin orange slices for "SNACK". 11:45 school lunch - hot dog (no bun) and tater tots plus milk. 4:30 after care snack: yogurt and mixed fruit parfait. She was STARVING and couldn't wait until we got home so at 5:30 we drove through McD for a hamburger (no bun) and fries. 6:30 cheerios and milk 7:00 2 mandarin orange slices cups. 7:15 one Girl scout shortbread cookie & a fruit by the foot snack. [the homework was measuring things so she "needed" the fruit by the foot.]
My daughter doesn't eat bread so she doesn't fill up on carbs and she typically eats a snack after dinner - cereal, fruit, or something even when dinner seems to me to be substantial. She's 7 and is average height and wiry, Go figure. Back in the day, we had B,L, and D and a carton of milk mid-morning at school.