Amazing Way I STOPPED My Kids From Eating All The Snacks
I saw convenience in buying groceries for the month. My kids saw SNACKS GALORE. I learned the hard way that my boys didn’t understand that the snacks were supposed to last the entire month, not just a week or even a weekend.
So after the first month, I had to figure out a solution. That’s when I remembered seeing “snack baskets” on Pinterest a while back. So I decided to try it out.
When I’m making the grocery list, I ask each of them what snacks they want for the month. But let me say here they don’t get all the snacks they want. It depends on what I can find on sale and where we are on the grocery budget.
Every day I put snacks in their baskets for the day. I will either do this first thing in the morning or the night before when I’m straightening up the kitchen after dinner.
When I decided to do this, I brought them in there and explained how it works. That way, they know they can eat whatever is in the basket, but when it’s empty, there is no more snacking for that day. We are in month 3 of doing this.
How’s it going?
So far, it’s working great. It has saved my sanity and has taught them about self-control. I have noticed this month that there are many days that there are snacks still in there at the end of the day. They also have snack baskets in the refrigerator too for the cold stuff.
Yes, they have other snacks
If you noticed, there are big bags of snacks like chips, pretzels, and Bugles behind their baskets. Sometimes I will put these in Ziploc bags and put them in the baskets if I notice they are eating them super fast.
Our House Rule: You can’t eat straight out of the bag. You have to pour it into a bowl. This keeps you from mindlessly eating the entire bag.
Where do I keep the extra snacks?
I have a big basket on the very top of my pantry cabinet that I will empty the small snacks into. This makes it really easy to grab and fill their baskets. Others I just put in the bottom of the cabinet. This also takes discipline on their part not to just get the snacks from these places. So if you have kids that can’t resist, you might have to hide the extras.
This is a great idea! This might help my sanity! Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome. I hope it works for you.
Great idea! I’m going to give it a shot! My kids are CONSTANTLY snacking!
It’s amazing how much they can eat. Hope it works for you.
This is such a helpful idea and huge pain point for many parents! Can’t wait to send this to my brother to implement with his children!
That’s a win-win! And definitely, a good way for them to learn to make better decisions.
These are great tips! Sounds like your pantry would look super organized. I’m working towards preparing snacks and having them accessible to avoid wasting and manage supplies. Kids sure go through snacks quickly and we want to encourage listening to hunger cues and their bodies but you’re right that it can be easy to finish a bag if mindlessly eating from it instead of a bowl. Thank you for sharing!
I try to keep as organized as possible. Organizing is my stress reliever. We have lots of discussions about eating out of boredom or eating because we are hungry. Thanks for your kind words.
Thank you! Very brief, to the point and relevant post! At least to me! We have that exact same issue in my household! 2 boys! And then of course when they’ve snacked so much – they don’t want to eat their proper food! I will be enforcing this rule! Thank you!
I’ve done this trick before. I need to do it again.
I love seeing that it works for other people.
Wow I love this idea, I always have a hard time with my son. He eats up everything in the house. I will definitely try method. Thank you for sharing it.
You are so welcome. We just keep a positive tone around it. That it’s more freedom than restriction. They don’t complain.