snacks

my LOs wake up and have a very small sippy of milk. within 20 mins or so we have breakfast. (around 8ish)
at 11 they have lunch and go down for a nap at 12. they wake up around 2 and then dinner is a 5ish.

i always gave my LOs a snack when they woke up from their naps. but sometimes i felt like they didnt eat a lot of dinner. (they are *just* beginning to eat different types of food now).

im just curious if i should give my kids a snack or if they really dont need it.

 

3 good meals and 2 snacks a day is the perfect balance for toddlers. It gives them the nutrition they need to keep up their busy day of learning new things and exploring.

We have breakfast around 10, lunch around 1, snack after nap around 4, supper at 7 and sometimes a snack before bed. Today they got up early and had an earlier breakfast, so we had a small snack of peanut butter crackers at 11.

 

:acute: ITA! Their tummies are so small that I find my guys need me to offer food every few hours. Sometimes they just pick, but often they devour every meal and snack. They're not huge breakfast eaters, so giving them a snack in between breakfast and lunch ensures that they have enough fuel to keep them going.

When my guys were still on 2 naps, we would give them a snack after nap, then lunch, and a snack after their second nap. Now that they're on 1 nap, we do a snack at like 9:30-10 (1.5-2 hours after breakfast) and another after nap (3:30-4).

Of course my guys are skinny-minnies, so I feel like they really need all that food!

 

My two are like Valerie's boys. I don't have big breakfast eaters, so they get an early lunch and then a snack before naptime. We also eat an early dinner most days and I offer a snack before bedtime (sometimes the kids want it and other times they don't). It can't hurt to offer them their snack and see if they will go for it.

 

i do not give snacks...well...because they seem satisfied from breakfast, lunch and dinner..Do you have to give snacks?

 

My kids are on the same schedule as yours. They eat lunch around 11:15 and nap from 12-2. I offer a snack around 3 p.m. (crackers, fruit, and sometimes cheese). They usually eat there snack and then eat well for their 6:15 p.m. dinner. I think they need a snack in order to make it from lunch to dinner. They can always choose not to eat it.

 

You don't have to but it is actually recommended, because as Nancy said, their stomachs are too small to stay full between meals. Are yours still drinking bottles or a lot of milk? That will fill them up so they won't need snacks. You'll probably find once yours get a little older they'll start acting fussy between meal times, as they do more (walk/run/play more) they'll burn more calories and need those snacks to keep up their happy energy.

 

I also give my 19 mo old girls 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. they sleep from 10p-10a and nap from 2-5:30 breakfast around 10:30 and a snack between br and lunch before nap. another snack when they wake up dinner around 7 and another snack before bedtime. snacks usually consist of crackers fruits or vegetables.

 

I give the twinks around two or three snacks in between their three main meals. I usually offer veggie crackers, cheerios, yogurts, fruits, cheese or bread with jam.

 

We do 3 meals and 3 snacks. Sometimes the meals are a snack.

 

Right now we are at 3 meals and 1 snack in the afternoon when they get up from their nap. I need to add in a morning snack because once school starts in 2 weeks, the boys will be eating breakfast earlier plus I need to feed them lunch and move nap time a bit later to accomodate school drop offs and pick ups. I'm hoping a mid morning snack will help with that.

 

We only do one snack, but I don't really know when we would fit in another. The good thing is that we haven't had a problem yet with them not eating their meals. My two have breakfast at 8:00am (after milk right when they wake up)- which is the meal of the day that they eat the most at, lunch at 11:00am, nap from 12:00 - 2:30, snack and milk at 3:00 or so, and dinner at 6:15 - 6:30. They go to bed at 7:30.

 

They drink 4 6 oz. bottles of milk a day 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 7pm..

I offer water/juice at mealtimes but they will rarely drink it...

 

That's why they don't need snacks yet Once they wean off those bottles they'll start wanting more snacks between meals.

 

i wonder if i feed my kids TOO BIG of a breakfast and lunch??

 

My girls are 16.5 months and I usually do not do snacks. If they do, it is because we are close to lunch or dinner and out and about. When they do get a snack or special teat it is a fruit, cheese, crackers mix. Maybe a granola bar.

 

My kids definitely get snacks! They would graze all day if I let them! They are so active they need the extra nutrition to get through the day.

Their day is kinda like this:

Wake (8:30-9) Breakfast w/either water or water/juice

Snack 1 1/2 - 2 hours after breakfast, usually carb or protein and fruit w/drink

Lunch: Noon

Nap: 12:30

Wake 3:45-4

Snack after nap, again, carb or protein and fruit plus water

Supper 5-5:30

Bed 7-7:30

Sometimes there is a snack in between supper and bed but only b/c they like to raid the pantry if I haven't put the child lock on it!!