Everyone's hungry at bedtime

greenfire

Mon, Nov 04 2013, 8:49 pm

if you get them used to it - it's gonna be a hard habit to break ... I do believe it's an avoidance of bedtime

EmesOrNT

Mon, Nov 04 2013, 9:04 pm

The kids eat supper. Showers and bed come right after. They have no reason to be hungry.

Maybe push off supper. The kids get a snack when they come home from school, before supper.

the world's best mom

Mon, Nov 04 2013, 11:23 pm

My kids go straight from school to therapy. They have a snack at therapy or on the way there. When we get home, around 5:30-6:00, they are hungry again and want supper. But they still have homework to do after supper, and they need baths and these things can take a long time. They are not in bed so soon after supper.

Tonight dd didn't want to finish her supper, though she did eat a decent amount. A while later, I asked her if she'll be full enough at bedtime or if she wants to finish her supper, and she said she was full. She didn't ask for a snack later. I'll try to remember to remind her every night.

Jewishmofm

Mon, Nov 04 2013, 11:44 pm

BTDT! we have a lot to cover once home from school. we have fruit time about 15 minutes before bed. It's also their cue to start winding down. (Once I announce fruit time, that's it. No more food,drink,toys,games, homework, etc.) this way, when I announce bedtime, no one is taken by surprise and no one has any excuses that will fly. and they know it. If you come out of bed hungry (and that rarely happens, and when it does it's usually hours after going to bed) there is a plain slice of bread or water.

Tablepoetry

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 4:43 am

You all seem to have families with only little kids. You'll discover, once you have older kids, it's not so easy or desirable to 'close' the kitchen at 7 or 8 pm.

It's kind of funny for me to read these posts. Raising little kids is such a different world from raising little kids when there are also teenagers in the house.

myself

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 8:09 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

My older DS is free to help himself with a snack so this pattern doesn't generally occur. Little kids don't prepare for bed themselves and the parent must therefore go through the schedule with them, requests for food usually disrupts that schedule and is therefore stressful, especially when bedtime should've been over already.

Tablepoetry

Tue, Nov 05 2013, 10:41 am

myself wrote:

I understand that, just saying that often when you have lots of older kids eating a snack or even a later dinner (because they came home later), then it's not that possible to tell your five year old that the kitchen is closed two hours before bedtime.
Well, it's possible, it just doesn't happen that way in many families.