Snacking all day

[*Nikki*]

Hi.. Just a quick question.... my 21 month old daughter seems to be snacking all day (if we let her)... she always has a good breakfast, lunch and dinner... but always says she is hungry and demands cheese, fruit or chips or whatever she can see (we rarely give her chips)... and its got my dp and i pretty concerned... is this normal?? we feel like we are always feeding her

[Rouge]

A gf of mine was going through a similar thing recently and I suggested making up a lunch box of a night time and hiding all the unhealthy snacks. If she's having things like dairy & fruit then thats not really a problem, but if she's after sweet or salty snacks its best to keep them where they can't be spotted (like a cupboard other than the pantry) and make up a lunch box of a night time with all the snacks you want her to have and tell her thats all there is. It definitely works, and they feel pretty special to have their own lunch box and to also have choices iykwim?

Some options are, sliced meats, cherry tomatoes, fruit, carrot sticks, sultana's, cheese, yoghurt, dry cereals like cheerios, fruit, maybe 1 or 2 sweet/salty options and a sandwhich, some vegie pikelets/muffins or some mini quiches.

If she's a healthy eater try not to worry because she could be going through a growth spurt, and you'll probably find in a few weeks she may cut down and then you'll worry she's not eating enough LOL! Its up and down a lot, but its all perfectly natural.

Goodluck!

*hugs*
Cailin

[*Nikki*]

Thanks Cailin.... i will deffinatly be trying that lunch box idea....it sounds like a very great idea... DD is a very healthy eater... loves her fruit and usually asks for it over chips and stuff... it just got us abit worried because its like none stop eating... hopefully it dies down soon or she'll eat us out of house and home hehe

Thank you again for your advice

[christy]

Yeah we did this with Matilda right before Jovie was born to get her used to having a choice of snacks and access while I was breastfeeding. Now we have a snack box where I've put portions together in glad zip lock bags of things like rice cakes, crackers, dried fruit and cereal. Then I will offer her a choice from the snack box and then something from her fridge shelf like yogurt, vege slice, etc etc.