After dinner snack- if your kid doesn’t eat any dinner or very little do you let them have a snack before bed?

We have dinner and a snack, or a snack and then dinner, depending on what the day is like. I always serve at least one "safe" familiar option with dinner so that I know there's something the kids will eat.

If we do an evening snack before bed, it's something like a spoonful of peanut butter, a piece of fruit, with milk or pediasure. I can't sleep when I'm hungry. My kids are both "underweight" like me (but healthy!) but I want to make sure I'm giving them every opportunity to get the nutrients and calories they need.

If you don't want to do a snack, I'd just save dinner and offer it again

Mine is still young (just turned two) but her eating is super crazy these days so I normally give her applesauce before bed so she stays full overnight because it’s hard to make sure she eats a full dinner.

i’ll usually do dinner & a snack/dessert, but i’ll tell them they can’t have the treat unless they eat all of their dinner.

i also learned to sneak the green stuff in & hide it well. like if i give them spaghetti or some type of pasta, i’ll chop up some arugula or kale really really small & put it in the sauce. i usually season their food pretty well, so they just think it’s more seasoning lol. i also give them healthy “sweet” foods that i know they’ll eat like sweet potatoes/butternut squash/carrots with a little plant based butter & maple syrup. i never give them stuff like broccoli or peas bc there’s absolutely no way they’ll touch those lol. i also don’t give them stuff i would never eat. peas are disgusting. 😂 leafy greens (hidden), healthy “sweet” food & plant based proteins. they like things like tomatoes & beets, & never turn down fruit, so i don’t have any problems there.

It depends. My now five year old has extreme FOMO and will say she's hungry just to stay up. But yes, most times I will offer some type of fruit or whatever carb we had for dinner.

It’s recommended just not to offer favorites as bedtime snacks. Because that would reinforce not eating dinner just to get to the snack. But you could offer a few options that they like but aren’t favorites.

I do always allow my son food when he’s hungry, although if it’s close to a meal I’ll tell him the snacks are limited to x amount and tell him why, of course.

sometimes I feel that’s what my little is doing. Other nights I think she’s actually hungry.

We typically give her a cheese stick, fruit, or a pouch, and some water as she gets milk at dinner… just don’t want to create a bad habit but at the same time I don’t want her hungry before bed. 😰

My 3 year old does this. So I've started saving her dinner. Then if she says she's hungry I tell her i can warm up her meal if she wants more and that helps me see if she is really hungry or just wants a snack. I don't want her living off of snacks

We offer before bed snack every day 😀

I would give a bedtime snack if he didn't eat much dinner or if dinner was earlier than usual. Bananas and peanutbutter toast is a good bedtime snack, otlr sometimes I'll offer cheese and crackers, or oatmeal. But only if he asks for food before bed.

Yep! To be honest I don’t tend to make stuff I know she won’t eat. Like she hates cheesey things so I’d never make mac and cheese and if we fancied it I’d make her tomato pasta with my freezer sauce stash.

But she usually has dinner & pudding around 5pm and if she’s still hungry after that before bed at 630pm she can have another snack.

I’m a snack house! Hungry.. help yourself! I legit never say no to snacks unless I’m plating up or about to plate up a meal

My 4yo went through a stage of eating little dinner then asking for a snack right at bedtime. I let him have something for 2 nights (banana) but was very firm the 2nd night & said this would be the last time. When he says he's done at dinner time I now reinforce for him to check if he's definitely got a full tummy & remind him there will be no snack later. He only has about an hour between dinner & bedtime so no reason for him to need another snack. If he'd eaten all his dinner though & was then hungry I'd let him have some fruit

My girls always have something to eat before going to bed whether they’ve eaten dinner or not. It used to be a bowl of cereal but now it’s usually a piece of fruit.

Yes however I think it’s just a delay tactic.

I do, she’s only 1 rn .. I give fruit 15 minutes before bed to prevent that from even popping up as an excuse. Believe it or not my 1yr old does come up with excuses already not to get in bed.. lmaoooo

All three kids TRIED this around the same age because they enjoyed their snacks more than their dinner. For us, it was easy. If you don't eat all your dinner, you don't get your nighttime snack or if they didn't finish their dinner and then asked for their nighttime snack I would give them the dinner they didn't eat. This helped me determine it was simply not them being hungry but rather them not wanting snacks instead of dinner.

Nope if u want a snack or treat ur eat what is for dinner first or u can go to bed . or u can eat and get something u like . And my son is 6 years old will be 7 years old .