My girls are 2.5 and 4 and I was thinking of having some sort of snack drawer/shelf/basket where they could easily choose what snack they want to eat. When they ask for a snack now they often can't see what we have and it makes snack choosing a long process. But maybe this could turn into a disaster? Would you allow your LO access to something like this? Obviously not the freedom to choose a snack whenever they want, they still have to ask, but just have it more at their level for choosing.
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My mom has one at her house for my son. It works out great, he goes and gets what he wants, he doesn't have to ask if he can have it, he has to ask if it is a mealtime before he eats it though. We are working on telling time and making the choice to ask for a meal versus a snack.
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Yep. She always asks us for permission before taking something.
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I think my kids (same age as yours) would be ok with a snack drawer. Right now, we have a bag they can choose from and they can only take 1 thing, 1x a day on the weekends, but it's not out in the open. It's on a shelf they cannot reach. They ask before eating things and my 2 year old probably couldn't even open the packages anyway, so it's not like a drawer would be a wild free-for-all situation.
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We couldn't. My son loves to snack and I have to really limit him so that he eats his meals. He is 4.5 and I could see him sneaking snacks and not asking.
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We have a cabinet with some snacks that the kids can access. For the most part, they only really go it when it's snack time anyway and they always ask us to open it for them since they are still too little to do it themselves.
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For us, it was a disaster. I've had to reinstall a baby gate to keep my 2 and 4 year old out of the pantry. They were tearing into snacks (canisters of raisins and boxes of cereal) at inappropriate times, running and hiding with them, and making a giant mess. I do have a basket of "to go" snacks like pouches, granola bars, fruit gummies, etc. that they can select from if they ask and I say it's ok. Things that come in big packs like yogurt melts or cheddar bunnies are kept in individual containers, but all on the same shelf,
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Yup, I have their snacks set up on a low drawer in the pantry with plates. They mostly just go in around snack time. If it's not time yet, I tell them to wait a bit longer for snack time (because they just ate a meal) or vice versa, it might almost be meal time so I tell them they can't have a snack. It works well for my 3.5 year old and 6 year old.
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Yes, similar to @Andrea, we have breakfast and snack items set up on a lower shelf in the pantry. They always ask before grabbing their snack of choice, so its worked out well for us. My kids are 3.5 and 5.5.
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We have one that has a child safety lock, but my 3 year old can open it now...He usually asks before he takes though. Thank goodness our freezer is too tall for him to reach since he would definitely steal Popsicles all day!
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Yes, we keep cereal and snack items on the lowest shelf in our pantry. LO can reach them easily and doesn't go in without asking, so we have no reason to restrict.
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We have a container in the fridge and one on a low pantry shelf for my 4yo to help herself. In the fridge she has cheese stick, fruit or yogurt options. The pantry she has crackers, and more snacky items. On the weekends we also set up milk and cereal so she can help herself. She knows she only gets so many snacks in her containers a week, so she has learned to manage her daily take.
She's been managing fine for almost a year. -
We do. I think we started around 3 or 3.5 years old? It's just a container on the lower pantry shelf with approved snacks (granola bars, fruit pouches, raisins, etc). He's also able to open the fridge to get fruit or cheese. He knows to ask if he can choose something. It's not fool-proof, but he's not too sneaky of a kid so it works overall.
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For those who do this, is the expectation that LO will still ask before getting a snack? Another words, are you aiming for independence so far as actually getting the snack out themselves, or independence in deciding when they are hungry and then taking care of that need themselves?
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@hilsy85: both for us. Sometimes she asks for a snack and then goes and gets something and asks if she can have them. Other times I say go grab a snack before we leave for after gymnastics.
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No. She'd snack all day and fill up before meals.
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We have yogurt and cheese on a shelf that he can reach in the fridge.
There are pirates booty, raisins and granola bars on a pantry shelf.
If we're nearby he asks if he can have a snack. If not, he helps himself. He's almost 4. -
I am actually about to make a snack drawer for DD, who is almost 3. She already goes in the fridge to get cut fruit/ veggies, cheese, yogurt, and juice boxes. I am going to make her a drawer of portioned dry snacks so she can grab herself something while I am nursing. She isn't the type of kid to snack all day so I think she will be fine with it.
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LO can open the pantry and reach her bin of snacks. She will usually do this a couple times a day but brings the snack to me to open (pouch, Pirate's Booty bag, etc.) so if she can't have it I just tell her to put it back.
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All the snacks are on one shelf of the pantry but DS can't reach, plus we have the knob child proofed.
When it us time for a snack we lift him up to pick. Usually if he us hungry hr just asks for a specific item.
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DS will go into our pantry or get something out of the fridge all the time (he has to ask).
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Lo is 2 and can open the cabinet drawer where we keep snacks. We haven't had too much trouble with it, but I also am not strict about her eating at precise meal times
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DD is 2.5 and can reach the snacks. She always asks or goes and gets something then asks since she needs help opening it usually. I don't have any problem with her deciding what and when she wants to eat since we haven't had any issues with her not eating well. aside from goldfish, we don't really keep any other snacks in the house that aren't "ok" in place of a meal should it come to that. Her snacks are usually fruit, yogurt, cheese, oatmeal, etc.
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Yes, I love the idea of snack drawer and even a snack shelf in the fridge. The snacks unless eaten all at once can't be so bad, after all the parent gets the final say in what is purchased for the home.
I was babysitting my Godbrother once and his parents had a serious snack shelf in the pantry. His snacks were not pre portioned and when I tried to give him a good helping he let me know that was too much for a little guy. So cute! He was 4 at the time.
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We have a snack drawer that the kids can easily access. They usually go there to choose snacks to bring along when we run errands. Normal snacks at home are usually boring like fruit or yogurt. The ones in the snack drawer are for special occasions.
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