How To Stop Your Kids From Snacking To Eat More At Meal Time
Getting your kids to try new foods can be just as difficult as stopping them from snacking endlessly with no real reason. Although it is important for children to eat to fuel their bodies, snacks are not always the best fuel.
Ensuring that they eat enough at meal times and get enough nutrients is key. If this means to reduce their snack intake, then so be it.
To stop your children from snacking unnecessarily to ensure that they eat more at meal times, here are some top tips.
Give them dessert after dinner to prevent late-night snacking
Should your child be an after-dinner snacker, then it will be a good idea to give them a dessert after dinner. Eating snacks before bed, especially those that contain too much sugar, will not be good for their health or their sleep.
Giving them a dessert will curb their sweet tooth and make them feel full enough to not want more food.
You could make strawberry brownies and make them more colorful with fresh strawberries on top to make them more appealing to your children. Although they might feel full after dinner, adding an extra sweet treat afterward can prevent them from snacking on sweets and more in the evening. You can add your own delicious superfoods and more to brownies to make them as healthy and nutritional as possible.
Establish a healthy eating routine
If your child prefers snacks to proper meals, then the best thing that you can do is to introduce a healthy eating routine. Yes, they can still snack. But, you will be able to control when and what they have.
Should your current eating routine be whatever and whenever, then this will not be enhancing your child’s health. Instead, you should have set meal and snack times so that your child gets used to a healthier diet.
Establishing a snack time in the middle of the day will ensure that they can still fulfill their snack craving. Around the snack, you should ensure that your child has a substantial breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. All meals should involve plenty of the top nutrients so that your child is getting the ingredients that will fuel their body and maintain their health.
Introduce new snacks to replace unnutritional ones
Many children will know what their favorite snack is. Although chocolate and sweets should be allowed (because life is all about balance), it is important to not let them have too much sugar and refined foods.
You should consider introducing new snacks – ones that contain more nutrients yet are just as fun. For example, you could swap their lunchtime snack of chocolate for a yogurt pot with cocoa nibs and fruit. They will still be able to satisfy their chocolate craving yet attain more nutrients and vitamins from the yogurt pot concoction.
Make sure to make the new snacks exciting and flavorsome so that they will enjoy them and not want the usual snacks to fill that craving.
