S/O dinner dilemma how long do you make LO wait for dinner?

KateLouise · June 2012

Just curious how long you make LO wait for dinner in terms of snacks before dinner time.

Sometimes LO will ask for something to eat, but dinner is coming up.

Sometimes I know I get in wrong in that I'll let her snack too close to dinner, or perhaps let her have too big a snack.

I have no idea of how long is too long to make her wait. 30 minutes? an hour? two hours? if she tells me she's hungry.

Because she's not very verbal she's not able to communicate the difference between a bit peckish and starving, and I hate the idea of her being really hungry, and dinner not being for another hour. But obviously I don't want to ruin her appetite with snacks.

We generally have a fairly settled routine, but sometimes she naps late, so she'll wake around 5pm (having not eaten since 12.30ish) but dinner isn't going to be ready until 6pmish, which to me is too soon for her to snack, but at the same time hours since she last ate.

thoughts?

kcisthebombdotcom · June 2012

Both my kids can't wait for dinner at 6. They both eat at 4 and generally have a snack before bed. I use a plate of leftovers from the night before to feed them so I don't have to cook for DH and I at 4. Is that an option for you?

LoveEeyore · June 2012

We have dinner at 5, but I give them their salad at 4. It kinda tides them over and allows me to make dinner. Plus then they don't sit through salad+meal all at once, which makes the meal more pleasant for all involved!

memali26 · June 2012

DD1 is typically up from her nap around 3 or 3:30 and has a snack around 3:30 or 4, then dinner is around 5:30ish. I know she's hungry after nap and needs the snack to not have an epic meltdown while waiting for dinner. I also know she probably won't eat much for dinner, regardless of whether or not she's had a snack, so I make sure she eats something in the afternoon.

I have a kid who gets SUPER cranky if she's hungry, so I aim to feed her something every 3ish hours. If she went 12:30 to 5 without eating, I'd definitely give her some fruit or veggies to hold her over until dinner.

MrsCarroll.6-10-07 · June 2012

We're a late house here. We eat between 730-8 as a family. GIrls wake up between 530-630 from their only nap of the day. Sometimes I will give them something small, like some fruit, a rice cake (they love them?), or popcorn while I'm cooking dinner. They usually don't have a problem eating at any point in the day (chubbies) so it usually doesn't really have an effect on dinner eating.

MrsWindyCity · June 2012

DS has a snack around 3:30 and we eat dinner around 6:15. On the days I have to pick him up from daycare, I get there later then H would, so they give him a snack at about 5:30 and we end up eating dinner an hour later. He still eats without issue.

I would definitely give her something after her nap if she is going 5+ hours. Just a small, healthy snack or part of her dinner or something would be fine.

saturdaynightdoubletree · June 2012

My kids have snack at 3pm every day and then need to eat by 5:30-6:30 at the latest. Sometimes if dinner is still cooking I'll give them part of it, like their veggies, or a slice of cheese so they aren't going nutty waiting for dinner.

honeybee111 · June 2012

DD eats a snack around 3:30-4 and I plan to have dinner at 6. I can definitely tell when she doesn't eat as much for snack because she is super cranky and starving by dinner time. You could try a small snack - like last night, we were running late and dinner wasn't going to be ready until 7, so I gave DD a handful of raspberries. DD's a really good eater, so she's never not been able to eat dinner.

brewcitybride · June 2012

I have issues with forcing super young children to wait until 6, to sit at the table and eat like an older child, to eat everything, and to then be dismissed. But that's just me.

What I do is feed the children first, because I am a working mom and sometimes it's just about survival. So we kind of do two shifts of dinner right now. It will change, and I know it will change, because I will make it change. Dinner at the table is important to me, and DH and I both grew up that way. However, even our very traditional mothers don't remember making babies and toddlers eat with the adults every night. Sometimes you can take shortcuts ladies!

I feed DS and DD around 5:00 every night. DH and I eat later, once DS is in bed and DD is relaxing. It just works for us, and that's all that matters right now.

saturdaynightdoubletree · June 2012

brewcitybride:
I have issues with forcing super young children to wait until 6, to sit at the table and eat like an older child, to eat everything, and to then be dismissed. But that's just me.

What I do is feed the children first, because I am a working mom and sometimes it's just about survival. So we kind of do two shifts of dinner right now. It will change, and I know it will change, because I will make it change. Dinner at the table is important to me, and DH and I both grew up that way. However, even our very traditional mothers don't remember making babies and toddlers eat with the adults every night. Sometimes you can take shortcuts ladies!

I feed DS and DD around 5:00 every night. DH and I eat later, once DS is in bed and DD is relaxing. It just works for us, and that's all that matters right now.

I totally agree with this. This was our house until a few weeks ago when DH and I decided to just move up our dinner time so that I wasn't cooking twice, and we noticed the kids ate better and more calmly with everyone at the table.

KateLouise · June 2012

brewcitybride:
I have issues with forcing super young children to wait until 6, to sit at the table and eat like an older child, to eat everything, and to then be dismissed. But that's just me.

What I do is feed the children first, because I am a working mom and sometimes it's just about survival. So we kind of do two shifts of dinner right now. It will change, and I know it will change, because I will make it change. Dinner at the table is important to me, and DH and I both grew up that way. However, even our very traditional mothers don't remember making babies and toddlers eat with the adults every night. Sometimes you can take shortcuts ladies!

I feed DS and DD around 5:00 every night. DH and I eat later, once DS is in bed and DD is relaxing. It just works for us, and that's all that matters right now.

it's not that i force her. it's that ordinarily she naps till aout 3. has a snack and then dinner around 530 or 6.

but some days she naps late, and dinner simply isn't ready, so it'sa matter of how much of a snack shoud i give her, without ruining her appetite.

i like the idea of giving her part of her meal.

mommyton&e · June 2012

If DS is starving close to dinner, I heat up some frozen veggies. He loves to eat veggies and it tides him over.

stdldb29 · June 2012

My kids get a snack when they wake up from nap (around 2:30-3:00ish). We eat around 5:30-6:00 as a family.

They get nothing but the snack when they wake up--and then dinner at dinner time. They go to bed at 7.

Most of the time their snack is fresh fruit and some sort of dairy (cheese, yogurt).

My kids are 2 and 4. We have always done it this way and it works great for us.

littledream313 · June 2012

My kids eat at noon and then dinner is around 5:30-6 pm. My 1 year old usually wakes up starving at 2 pm so he always gets crackers & milk and he still eats a big dinner. My 2 year old isn't a big eater though so she usually doesn't care. I offer her some fruit, cheese, or crackers around 3:30 and she'll usually eat them but she almost never asks. I cook veggies 30-45 minutes before dinner because they'll chow down on those like crazy while I finish cooking.

TiffanyBerry · June 2012

I try to stop the snacking an hour before dinner. But that means I specifically offer her a snack one hour and again half an hour before that. If timing works out really horridly, however, I'll let her start having some of the components of dinner ahead of time.

juliane2004 · June 2012

They get a small snack (applesauce or pudding) when they wake (around 4pm), even if dinner is at 5pm or so.

I wouldn't make them wait till 6pm, that feels late for dinner, esp if they haven't eaten since 12:30. IMO, eating is eating, so if they eat a snack but it results in only half of dinner to be eaten, oh well.

noah-bear · July 2012

Snack at four, dinner at six, bed at eight

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