Then they are not that hungry. Most likely they are bored and eating alleviates that boredom for a few minutes. My kiddos eat supper and then dessert, if they eat all their supper and that's it. If we are having a family movie night, they get popcorn but that's all. No you don't have to feed them every five minutes.

~IT WAS WORTH IT WHEN I BEGAN~

They can get it for themselves. Try not to get a sugary one.

make dinner and thats it...they are old enough to help themselves!

Sometimes even I have a snack before going to bed. If I go to bed and I am hungry I won't be able to sleep.

Keep trying to offer them health snacks. Fruit is best, or maybe celery with peanut butter. Tell them it's that or nothing...they may start eating the snacks you offer.

and im speaking from the outside and on the limited info youve provided...but this post combined w ur other...i really think ur husband needs to set some rules for his kids as far as what is expected of them in ur home...and how they should be treating u as well

My bs just about ate me out of house and home from 8 to 19. I don't keep junk in the house so if they are truly hungry they have have to pick something that is good for them. My ss likes applesauce.

I really don't think that snacking is such a big deal if they are not refusing to eat dinner. I think it is what they are snacking on that really matters. Keep offering the healthy stuff.

My skids eat more than I can believe (and are rail thin), but I have rules about snacks. On weekends after dinner they can have sundaes or treats, but most of the time it's healthy snacks or nothing: e.g. "you can have a banana, sliced apple w/peanut butter or yogurt. Or nothing." If they take nothing, then they are not that hungry. We mostly don't keep the other garbage in the house anyway.

Some snacks they grab themselves (8 and 10). Other times I get it or I ask DH to get it. I don't mind getting their snack though, as long as they are not lounging about and lazily waving their hands at me like I'm a servant. I like feeding them healthy stuff, it makes me feel good, and I like caring for them. I also like teaching them how to be independent, so I just try to hit a balance depending on circumstances.

I think back to when I was a kid -- I was hungry a lot too. I don't think it's that unusual.

i made a list of snacks that they can eat any time without asking.

the list includes:
any fruit we have (i try to keep one or two kinds)
yogurt
pickles (low calories)
carrots
cauliflower
bottled water/glass of water
any juice we have
popcorn
etc

if they are complaining about being hungry they are referred to the list. we also keep junk food, but they have to ask for that and they know if they ask me i am going to say no most of the time. i try to plan meals that are healthy 90% the time they are here and we usually have one eat out night or a junk dinner of pizza or something like that. that way, our picky one doesn't feel constantly hounded about veggies and they still eat pretty well most of the time. our rule is that if you don't eat your dinner you don't get a snack or dessert later, even if everyone else is having one.

another way to avoid the boredom eating is saving what they don't eat of dinner in the fridge - if they are truly still hungry, they can have their own leftovers. after having to do that a few times they usually finish their dinner on the first try. oh - and their portions usually start very small so that cleaning the plate isn't over eating - we try to encourage eating what you have then getting a little more if you are still hungry, so leftovers means you didn't eat that one spoonful of green beans or that half of a chicken breast.

for snacks and is saying he's hungry constantly after picking at his meal that i made him supper (and i'm apparently a good cook according to everyone else in the world).

i think snacking for kids is fine and in fact a good idea. one snack after supper. however, when i offer him the ONLY snack foods that i keep in the house:

whole wheat toast with peanut butter
fruit
yogurt
popcorn
iced tea or milk (juice is for mornings - guzzle water or milk if you're thirsty)
cheese and crackers
warm up leftovers from dinner (seeing that you barely ate any of it first time round)
cereal and milk

as you can see, none of these appeal to him and i do not keep chips, cookies or candyin the house. i do keep chocolate chip cookies actually, but i hide them. they are for ME as a treat now and then and the last time i left them out, the ENTIRE bag was eaten in ONE night while i was away. and then, to add insult to injury the little rat put the empty bag back int he cupboard just to piss me off. so now, i hide my cookies.

this is a typical issue with all kids. i just don't cave in. we have a 1 year old baby and she needs to have good eating habits exemplified in our house. not to mention DH is always complaining he's too fat and needs to lose weight.

Just trying to be a Stepmom without getting Stepped On.

We eat early. Usually, we're at the table by five. Bedtime is not until nine and breakfast is when they get up... usually around 7 am. That's a long stretch for them to go without, so I don't mind the snacking, as long as they ask first. That's the rule... ask first, so I can keep track of how much they are eating and make sure they don't snack before meals. I keep lots of fruits and veggies in the house and, as long as it doesn't conflict with meals, they can have as much of those as they want. I also keep yogurt and individually wrapped cheese wedges, which they both love. For the most part, my kids snack on healthy things, so I don't mind them snacking. When they want "junk" food, I get those 100-calorie packs and let them have one of those. I can control the calories and the portions a lot easier than letting them get into a large bag of chips or whatever. I think a lot depends on the timing of the meals and how much they eat at mealtime. Smaller, more frequent meals/snacks is the way to go with younger children, because their tummies aren't big enough to hold enough food to tide them over for long periods. Even for older kids and adults, I think it's healthier to eat smaller portions more frequently. So healthy snacking, in my opinion, is okay, provided meals are being eaten. If they are skipping meals to get to the snacks, then I'd say no to the snacks.

♥ Georgia ♥

"Good men don't just happen. They have to be created by us women." (from ROSEANNE)

We have rules about snacking after dinner. They can have a snack until 9:00pm, but nothing sweet or sugary (including juice and sweet tea)after 8. SD12 will sometimes throw a complete fit after 9 and repeat "but I'm hungry" over and over with this air of despair, like she's going to faint from hunger at any moment. Tough luck, she knows the rules, and she probably already had a snack moments before. She eats almost constantly. We mostly allow whole grain cereals, fruit, yogurt and toast. It all used to be earlier, because we had a bedtime of 9 for them, but BM's bedtime was 11 or after on weeknights and none on the weekends (basically whenever she decided she wanted to go to bed), and it's impossible to put a kid to bed who went to bed the night before at midnight and slept until noon (she "homeschools" them, and I use the term very loosely) so we had to compromise at 10:30.

We have the same problem getting them to eat healthy snacks. BM keeps all sorts of junk food available, and we don't. But they quickly found out that if they want anything then they have to eat what we have, and found to their surprise that it's good. But they would still prefer the cookies, candy and chips that BM would give them. We can only do so much to change their habits EOW.

BM never cooks at her house so all SS is used to eating is junk...Krystal's, McDonalds', pizza, etc. When he is here, we cook dinner every night. He has tried so little real food that all that he knows he "likes" is chicken, pizza, and burgers. He won't even try most vegetables, but he knows he likes carrots and corn. He actually REFUSES to eat anything that is GREEN! So when I cook dinner he eats about 3 or 4 bites and then sets his plate on the counter. Then an hour or two later he's asking for something else to eat. It drives me crazy!

*~So sayeth Nymh~*

he is such a wimp when it comes to food and i have no idea why. is it his BM's fault? i dunno. everyone loves my cooking. but this kid turns his nose up at absolutely everything. even if the dish i made contains only 3 ingredients, and i happen to know that those are 3 ingredients he likes, he still will snub it. and why? because he's such a suck, has no sense of adventure and has a tons of hang ups. however, 12 is a tough age and i find alot of kids this age are picky eaters and only like junk food. i NEVER buy junk food. so, if he's hungry, he gets to eat the dinner he snubbed, again or have fruit, yogurt, cereal, toast or cheese and veggies.

Just trying to be a Stepmom without getting Stepped On.