Last Friday we had a joyous “School is out, let’s celebrate!” kind of a day. Today the reality of Summer Schedule has begun to sink in. I’m going to have to feed my children three meals per day instead of two (with the third being school lunch.) Oh and then there are all the snacks. and the guilt. If I let the kids play video games or watch movies all day, then I have to feel guilty about not providing enriching experiences. If I make them turn the TV off, then I am inundated with a chorus of bored and hungry children. The hungry is what really drives me crazy. I spend creative energy making food, then I have to argue about how much they eat. Then they’re hungry again because I couldn’t get them to eat enough.
I’m hoping that we’ll find a new rhythm quickly. I’m hoping we’ll find ways to keep us all occupied and get the necessary work done. Yesterday I was sure it would all work out. Today is a pessimistic day. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a fresh influx of optimism.
A trick on them not eating enough and getting hungry later is to make at least one meal a day that they can put in the fridge and nibble on later if they get hungry.
Also some people, especially children, just don’t have the stomach capacity to eat very much at one time, so you can’t really blame them for not eating a lot at any given time. Which leads me to rick number two: Feed them something where they don’t need to eat a lot for it to fill them for a while.
And of course always keep fruits, veggies and other healthy things on hand for when they need snacks. One thing I liked about visiting my grandmother was that she always had a bowl of fruit we could take from if we just needed a quick snack. (I also liked the cookie jar, but then what kid doesn’t?)
Ugh. I feel for you. My kids are young yet and I’m feeling it too! It seems I am ALWAYS answering the hungry whining no matter how many healthy snacks I keep on hand. They want a full menu laid out before them every time (I try to limit it to two or three choices but they counter with “That’s it?!?”) and then they balk when I make them eat the soggy, stale or room temperature food they didn’t finish before I give them more.
Today is a pessimistic day for me as well.
Just one comment about this one.
You don’t have to feel guilty about letting them play video games or watch movies all day, provided that it doesn’t happen every day. Once in a while, it doesn’t hurt.
As for the food, well, good sense from serpentrose about portion sizes and suchlike. The simple answer though is “You didn’t eat your lunch, it’s not tea-time yet, so tough”. Presumes lunch was something they nominally like to eat. I’ve not got a lot of time for forcing kids to eat something they don’t like, it was done to me, though that was at school, not at home. Make good food and avoid stuff you know they hate, then be tough about mealtimes. You can always allow something like an apple as an in-between snack, but snacks are a bad move, in general.