Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Manage the Snackage


Mom, I'm hungry. What can I eat?

Do you hear this in your house? I came up with a strategy to quiet their cries. I call it Snack Management.

Each child gets a lunch sack with their name on it every Saturday. I put 8 snack foods (enough for one snack a day and an extra) into each sack. It's up to them to "budget" their snacks.

My kids are welcome to as many fruits and vegetable snacks as they would like, but I limit their intake of prepared snacks to one serving a day. Actually, they could eat them all on Monday, but they won't get any more until the next Monday.

I have included such snacks as wheat thins, a cookie or two, rice krispies, granola bars, pretzels, a ticket for a yogurt, some chips, etc. I make sure to have plenty of apples, grapes, carrots, bits of cheese, etc in the fridge.

They don't have to ask me what they can have. When it's gone - it's gone. They do remind me when "Snack bag" day rolls around though.

Hope this helps you manage the kids' munchies. Hmmm, maybe I should make one with my name on it. Naaah. See Rocks In My Dryer for other WFMW tips or go here (and scroll down) to see s'more of my tips.

16 comments:

Gina said...

What a fabulous idea! That would probably work even better than my snack shelf idea. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for that great idea.

Elizabeth-W said...

Smarty!!! Now do you think a 3 year old can do this?? I'm thinking yes on my 6 yr old, but 3? Hm....I think I could make one for myself, too ;)

Anonymous said...

Corrie,
What a great idea. I def need to make one for myself!
Thanks for visiting and love your idea with the spaghetti sauce.

Montserrat said...

Great idea! Maybe it'd help me manage my own snacking as I try to lose a little weight.

T with Honey said...

That's a fantastic idea!

My daughter is only 2 years old so I don't think I could let her have control of her snack bag. But this would allow me to put a mix of candy and healthier items in it. Then Honey and I wouldn't have to try and remember "how many lollipops did she have this week?"

My Trendy Tykes said...

This is a wonderful idea!

Linda

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic idea!

Peculiar Blogs said...

WOW! You are a GENIUS!!!!! I am going to try this one out!

Stephanie said...

Great idea, thanks for sharing!

Lara said...

I love it! How organized of you!

Cherie Nelson said...

I love this idea. For my 3 year old, I might just have to do it for the day... She's a snacker though and this might help quite a bit!

Anonymous said...

That is an AWESOME idea. I'm goin to try it for sure.
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

whoops, posted an old email addy.

Anonymous said...

that's a good idea! might try that with our kids too.

Kathy in WA said...

Wow, this is an interesting idea. I am always battling the snack attack problem with my five children.

Like anything, a little bit of preparation and foreplanning can make a big difference in how the week goes. I never thought about scheduling out snacks.

I love the way it makes the children somewhat responsible for their snack management.

Thanks!

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