Hi All,
My 4 year old comes home from Kindergarten at 4pm absolutely starving. I know he eats his lunch because he either brings home an empty lunchbox or he tells me what he's had for hot lunch and he's always been a good eater, but lunch is at 12 and by the time he gets home 4 hours later, he is literally almost in tears he is so hungry. I don't want to feed him too much because my boys eat dinner at 5.30. I have tried just giving him a piece of fruit or a few crackers but that just makes him beg for more. Unfortunatley if I do give him more then of course he doesn't want his dinner.
I cant really give him dinner at 4. That's weird. What do I do? Help. Dx
Thanks everyone. These are such good answers. I really appreciate you taking the time. If nothing else, I know it's normal. There are a few things I should have clarified - first, he spends nearly an hour in a taxi getting home every day and he gets car sick, so I don't want him eating just before he gets in the taxi or (obviously) in the taxi. Also, he goes to bed at 7, so moving dinner out isn't really possible. I'm jealous of all you ladies who get to eat as a family every evening. We live in England and its not really the cultural norm here. Even so, my hubby doesn't get home until after 7 most days, so we put the boys to bed and then eat ourselves. Most of you mentioned peanut butter and I made a loaf of his favorite bread last night so I will try having half of a
peanut butter sandwich waiting for him today and see if we can stop the melt down. Wish me luck. Thanks again so much. I do appreciate all you guys.
Oh and I'm not trying to limit his snacking because I'm worried about fat and calories. We live on a farm and my boys spend every day running, jumping, climbing and being very active. We do eat healthily, but treats feature too. I am not worried about my children getting overweight. In fact, dragging them away from activities and trying to fit enough food into their 12 hour day seems to be more of a challenge. :))
I actually have food with me when I pick up my daughter. Nothing big but it helps her get home and unwind. Try to put a bit more in his lunch. I hope he is eatign it and someone is not taking it because my daughter would come home with stuff still in her lunch bos all the time. Sometimes she'd say she didnt have time to finish etc and she was hungry. But I'd rather some stuff come back than nothing at all.
Feed him another lunch, like a pb&j with applesauce or mac and cheese, protein and fiber rich foods.
The body needs to eat when it needs to eat, not when mom says it's NOW TIME. Who says the magic number has to be 5:30. Feed him dinner at 4:30, then a light snack at 7:30 before bed or when you and hubby sit down to eat. His light snack will be whatever is for dinner.
Let him have a decent snack and then maybe move dinner back to 6. I think dinner at 4 is going to be difficult to do if he has homework, etc. My kids always had a snack after school. Maybe a glass of milk, a few cookies, or a half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a cheese stick, and still ate dinner. Most kids come home starving from school.
I was also thinking that maybe you can pack him a snack in his backpack for him to eat on the way home. A granola bar or some peanut butter crackers. Something that doesn't require refrigeration. Or just have a snack ready like that when he comes home. If I ever give my kids snack before dinner I usually give them fruits or veggies. I figure that way if they don't eat much dinner at least they've eaten something healthy.
My kids always have an after school snack. I even do as much as they need without it being a full meal. You might want to consider moving dinner out another 45 minutes to an hour. My sons get home around 4, sometimes 4:30 and we eat dinner between 6:15 and 6:30. Dinner is over two hours after school and they are hungry again.
Good luck!
Don't give him empty carbs for a snack. Give him some nuts or cheese or yogurt. It has protein in it. That is what he needs a little of to be satisfying. Or fruit with peanut butter to dip it in.
Can you give him a small ziploc baggie or snack bag of nuts or a cheese stick to eat before pick up time?
Dinner at 4 is not weird. Do dinner at 4 and a snack later. He's a growing boy for Pete's sake. Also, put more in there for lunch and tell him to try and save a little to eat on the bus if they allow that. If not, have him eat it all at lunch.
Also, is he getting enough protien? It stays longer. But 4 hours is a long time. Find out if he can eat anything on the bus.
I've always fed my kids an after school snack. Some kind of protein, string cheese, pb and crackers, something rib sticking but a medium portion so they'll be hungry at dinner. Give him some apple juice too. Always worked for my kids....
Can you pack him something that he can eat on the way home that way he isn't starving by the time he walks through the door? If you catch him before he's at that point, he should then be able to wait until dinner.
If not, have a snack waiting when he walks through the door. Be sure it includes some protein (nuts, cheese, peanut butter) w/ some fruit.
My son is in Kindergarten too and has lunch at 11 but they also get to have a snack later in the day. He is home by 3pm and gets a snack and we eat dinner between 5:30 and 6. I would talk to his teacher and see if she has given thought to a snack time for the class otherwise let him have a small apple or a cheese stick to tide him over till dinner is ready. Even if he begs for more snack, you'll just have to stand your ground (and possibly endure a melt down) and make him wait till dinner for more food.
S.
put an extra snack in his bag that is for after school. a bag of crackers w/peanut butter, a banana a bag of raisins. something filling that he will eat before getting home. just as a question why can't he have dinner at 4? can you not give him his dinner early and then a snack later when you and hubby eat?
My MIL famously called that afternoon snack vulture food, because her two boys would descend on it like vultures spotting carrion.
How about a "starter course" like a salad or a brothy soup? It takes some time to eat, but shouldn't really get in the way of a proper dinner.
Good luck to you and yours.
F. B.
If he has lunch at 12, and school doesn't get out until 330 or 4, he should have a snack in-between. My son is in first grade and they go to school at 830. His lunch is not until 1, so they have a snack before lunch.
Can you pack him some things with more protein to keep him fuller longer? Not sure what he's eating, but that might help.
I'd talk to the teacher though. Maybe other kids are having the same issue. And I've never heard of kindergarten kids not having a snack. Maybe they can implement it.
I pack a bag of snacks for me and my son for after school. I work-out while he's in school and when I pick him up we BOTH have a snack on the way home. It helps him decompress and relax. Makes a much nicer time when we get home because he's had something to eat. It's a great 'attitude adjuster.'
I would ask his teacher if you can send an afternoon snack in. My kids classes have always had snack time through the 4th grade (when they change schools)
My 5 year old has done that, and I've provided childcare for school age boys and they do that too---when I'd pick them up they were famished by the time they got to my house, where I already had pre-prepped most snacks. I think it's just a normal growing child thing. Sometimes they just need snacks! I remember eating snacks after school when I was a kid, too.
The most successful snacks for starving boys, in my opinion: whole wheat bread toasted and then spread peanut butter on it and serve with milk (or cheese toast: put some cheese on the bread and toast it in the oven until the cheese is melted and bread is toasty). Also, sliced apple wedges with a little bit of peanut butter and some apple juice. Or even some nachos sometimes: spread the beans and top with a little cheese before going to get him, and it'll just take a few minutes to heat that up.
As Czechma mentioned, the snacks need protein. Crackers are not going to cut the hunger unless you slice a little cheese or something with it. And fruit is good, but again, maybe a pear with a cheese stick on the side, or apple with peanut butter. A little bowl of macaroni and cheese. Or one slice of bread with a little ham and cheese, heated up and folded over for a "half sandwich". Those kinds of things. (Another thing, I'm sure this is just mental but sometimes warm "feels" more filling).
Young boys are burning energy just sitting around growing, and especially if they're active and playing a lot, you don't need to worry about "oh, a nacho or peanut butter aren't low fat". It's twinkies and ho hos that can be a problem, but for a normal active child, things like cheese toast and milk won't be a problem at all. I also agree that you can do a more filling snack and move dinner to slightly later (we eat about 6:30 except on kung fu nights). We do not eat dinner at 4---I agree with you there. We like to eat dinner together as a family, and unless the moms that are suggesting serving dinner at 4 serve their children completely different "kid meals" then "adult" dinner isn't ready that early and dad is not home from work. My 2yr old and 5yr old kids don't eat nuggets, fish sticks, and little burgers at a separate time, they eat arroz con pollo, gumbo, grilled salmon, and thinly sliced steaks with asparagus---with the family.
Just curious why the boys can't eat dinner at 4, especially if bedtime is 7 or so :)
For my kids, making sure that the snack includes protein makes the difference between whether it satisfies them or not. Also, a whole grain helps. So - peanut butter on whole grain bread or crackers, cheese with an apple or whole grain crackers, any kind of meat with any kind of grain.
Good luck!
Try giving him a snack, and then serve dinner later.
Hi there, Can your son eat 1/2 hour before he gets in the taxi to head home? Our daughter suffered from car sickness and strangely enough, it was much worse when she was hungry. Maybe just some plain crackers before coming home? I live in Italy, and here people eat pizza bianca for seasickness. It's basically white pizza bread with salt and olive oil. Something like that might keep him from being so hungry, and help the car sickness, too!
I certainly understand your delemma (sp?). If my GD doesn't have a snack by 4:00, she is starving as well and if I let her eat after that, then no dinner. Because of that, I have a rule that there is no snacking after 4:00 so I always warn her just before 4:00 about having a snack.
I have two thoughts. First, can you ask the daycare about a snack time at around 3:00. Most kids do eat a snack at that time.
The only other suggestion I have is to let him have a decent snack at 4:00 and then make dinner a little later, maybe around 6:30.
I also just recalled that apples are a very good snack - apparently because of the water content. I wonder (if he likes apples) if an apple wouldn't fill him up enough but not too much. Maybe try apples.
Hi D.,
I see more an more of this today due to the soils being depleted of important nutrients. I am a rep for a wellness company and their nutrition is whole food, organic and natural that you can give to children and I give my granddaughter a protein drink that has the nutrients that are missing in the soils and that holds her off so she is not hungry all the time. She loves it and shares with her friends and they pour it in popcycle molds and freeze it to make healthy popcycles when she wants to snack.
If you want more info let me know.
Have a good day.
N. Marie
Didn't have time to read all the responses. I would suggest packing him a snack he can eat on the way home. Trail mix with nuts would be good - protein makes y ou feel full. I always got carsick as a kid and being hungry was always worse. Even now, if we are traveling in the mountains I am sure to have something to eat (not too much but not to little) or I will definitely get carsick. Some food is key to reducing carsickness I've found. Besides a snack would give him something to do in the car along with maybe listening to music to keep distracted from carsickness. If he eats his snack earlier, while in the car, perhaps he'll be more hungry at dinner. Good luck!
He needs protein. I give my son a whey protein shake every afternoon after school. I did it last year when he was in kindergarten, and this year in first grade. He drinks it right after school, and then we generally have dinner at 5:30PM. Whey protein is on the of the best forms of protein you can consume. I'd recommend Dr. Mercola's whey protein or One World Whey. Personally, we currently use One World Whey because it's cold processed.
Good luck!
When my kids are starving before dinner I give them their portion of veggies that would have gotten with their dinner! It is my way to make sure they eat their veggies and works just about every time! If that is not enough we just bump up dinner.
It really seems like a snack time would be your best option. Ask his school to allow him to have a snack. That's quite a long time for a child to go without eating. They're always hungry! I bring snacks with me when I pick up my kids, plus their school allows them to eat a snack at recess.
