Dinner/ Supper time

lolymom

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 11:09 am

My pre1A son (5 and a half years old) comes home from school at 3:15 and is starving!! I let him have a snack (cookies/ snack bag) then I offer fruits or a yogurt but he is still hungry and I feel like I can’t serve supper at 3:30 in the afternoon or even 4 I usually try to push it until 4:45. I think a lot of it is just boredom because his older siblings only come home close to 5. But I feel bad for him and he ends up having another snack…
When do you serve supper/ dinner? Is it crazy if I give it to him at 4? Will he be hungry again before bed or starving in the morning?

amf

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 11:14 am

I try to have something filling and healthy available
Cheese/PB/chumus and crackers
Cut up fruit/veggies
Warm soup

If it's out and sitting there it usually gets eaten, even instead of chips and cookies occasionally. It helps tide us all over (me included!) until suppertime

cupcake123

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 11:16 am

Same story except 3.5 year old. I serve supper at 4 for her and everyone else eats when they get home

teachkids

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 11:30 am

My kids eat two dinners. One when they get home and one with everyone else. First can be a sandwich or oatmeal or eggs if you want

amother

NeonYellow

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 11:31 am

We eat a family dinner at 6:30 when DH comes home. I feed the kids a healthy, filling snack when they come home from school so they're not "staaaarving" until dinnertime. What they eat depends on the kid, but they know they can have crackers with some kind of protein like chummus or cheese or tuna or peanut butter, yogurt, string cheese, fruit or veggies, unsweetened applesauce with honey or cinnamon, or any lunch leftovers they bring home from school. I don't give junk snacks like cookies or snacks bags because that doesn't fill them up and only leaves them wanting more food. My pre1A child often has a filling snack when he comes home and then a fruit closer to dinner when he's hungry again but I don't want him to ruin his appetite.

Brit in Israel

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 12:15 pm

Can you give him a yogurt or a plate of cut up fruit that he can snack on whilst playing.

I find when I take out a toy or paper and crayons for my 4 yr old, he straight away plays and doesn't ask for a snack in the middle, its only on days that he isnt really playing

amother

SandyBrown

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 12:24 pm

I try to have cooked pasta ready in the fridge for this reason
I also offer yogurt, cereal or baked French fries

amother

Caramel

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 12:38 pm

Definitely give him part of supper or 2 suppers. No need to give only snacks.

Make him extra soup, chicken, noodles, whatever supper is - give it to him at 330 and then again at 530 or 6.

Or, let him eat supper at 330 and a snack at 5:30.

There's nothing wrong with eating "supper" at 3:30... but I've been known to eat chicken for lunch at 10:30 AM, so take my advice with a grain of salt :-)

Sunflower11

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 12:47 pm

We do dinner multiple times a day over here LOL

Huge pain in the neck but as each kid comes home so hungry I feel it’s too mean to make them wait so long for an official “family dinner” time

YounginBP

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 1:02 pm

I serve the chicken at 345ish. As soon as it's ready. I come home at 315 and rush to get it ready.
I offer more food when dh and I eat at 615. Occasionally they say yes for more chicken then. They usually have the soup or more starch then. If they are really hungry, they can have a banana or an apple.
I find it easier this way, because if they snack before they don't eat the supper.

chocolate moose

Sun, Jan 21 2024, 4:43 pm

I'm not a 5 year old but if I'm that hungry, all the nuts and protein bars in the world won't cut it. I need proper food and enough of it! snack food isn't great - all that salt and fat. give him a sandwich, or easy food like fish sticks, coleslaw. frozen pizza. not chips and nonsense.