After school snacks

I am sure there should be no worry attached to children having a healthy snack after school if they still eat their evening meal.

But we are definitely in a diabetes/obesity crisis and the NHS are performing around 100 amputations each week. That is around 5,000 per year!!

Small children still have a healthy insulin response, and are very active, but even slender adults can develop diabetes, and sweet treats are not going to help avoid this.

As to rice cakes, yes, we were sold these as a healthy option, but the truth is they are so refined they are digested too quickly, and will cause a sudden sugar spike, especially the caramel coated ones.

My personal problem is that the perceived wisdon, handed down in the last 40 years, of low fat, frequent grazing/snacking e.g dried fruit as part of my daily 5, has led to overweight.

I have worked out I was consuming about 1Kg of sugar per week in foods, e.g. healthy fruit yogurts, which was costing me something around £10 per week. I might add that I haven't bought a bag of granulated in more than 20 years.

From extensive reading I now understand that every time I put anything in my mouth an insulin response is created, and it seems to me my only answer now is to cut out all processed foods containing more than 4% sugar. A bit harsh, yes, but I have lost 1 stone in the past 2 months, and a glucose test on Friday gave 4.3. So perhaps at last I am winning the losing game!

gillybob I agree. DGC frequently complained about how small the portions of their school dinners were and how they were left hungry. They now take packed lunches.

What about the child who has had a rubbish school “lunch” and has a long journey home followed by another wait for dinner/tea? Should they starve ?

If I pick up my grandchildren then it depends what we are doing . I rarely greet them with food but if we then go to another activity then I think a drink and a piece of fruit is sometimes a good option .

One could argue that eating later in the day is more harmful; you don't have time to burn off the calories consumed. The more you read, the more confusing it becomes.

We used to have tomato sauce sandwiches when we got home from school. Always hungry at that time, children expend a lot of energy.

etheltbags1 Your post has raised another question that might be related - you mentioned a late night snack before bed (what I think of as 'supper'). In other words, your dgd is eating twice after school.
My own DGC (5 & 7) are given a snack right after school, to tide them over until their meal at around 6pm. That meal is their last of the day, with them going to bed around 7pm. In other words, they also eat twice after school.

I wonder if this is a common pattern, with the only difference being the time and order of those two 'meals', or if there are a lot of children who only eat once after school, or who eat three times (especially in older children who obviously go to bed later)!

I'm picking my dgd today and I won't have any snacks. We never do, she gets her meal about 5 and then maybe a late night snack before bed. She nerver asks for snacks. It's just the way we bring them up, however if we had a long commute them maybe I would take a snack.

silverlining, whilst growing up 2 of my children have been classed as overweight by the school. However, when I have taken them to the hospital for other conditions or the Dr's, they have found them to be quite within the normal realms for their height to weight ratio. On one occasion we had a letter from school expressing concerns, he moved school the following Monday where he had a medical and was found, once again, to be "normal". It is just a complete joke and these children are being subjected to feelings of negativity before they reach the grand age of 5.
I agree with Spanielsears that these posts are designed to reflect badly on today's parents and then we wonder why today's parents want to go NC with Grandparents. Being more grown up than another adult doesn't give us the right to be so judgemental.

gilly the school i was talking about is in one of the most expensive areas in the country, but i saw no hummus and carrot sticks there, mores the pity. This isn’t or shouldn’t be about poor bad, wealthy good. Sweets cakes and biscuits are nice we all know that, but if that’s every day which seems to be the case then that is not healthy.

It’s been interesting reading others thoughts on the subject, and it was just something I have noticed and wondered if this was the case generally.

Children are all weighed on starting school and I believe over 30% of these are classed obese or overweight. If that’s correct that is one in three, so about 10 in every class, a very high number which has to be of concern. They won’t understand, but we as adults do have a responsibility.
What about teeth..so many young children have mouths full of fillings....now I will place my head beneath the parapet and bid you all a good day.

I’ve noticed one or two posts are a bit on the snobby side as though parents/grandparents who pick their children up from schools on council estates must feed them rubbish whereas those who attend schools in very upmarket areas take them a small potion of quinoa and a carrot stick.

Having said that my DGS (who’s school is slap bang in the middle of a large council estate) would rather have a little pot of humous and some carrot sticks than any chocolate bar.

Dare I say - this didn't happen in my day. We weren't as well off then but I suspect if we had the money to spare we may well have done the same.

Hah! Its all coming out now silverlining48! Which is very honest of you,but it doesnt mean everyone is the same.please see that every child and parent have different reasons for snacks.and doesnt mean they all are,or are destined to be,obese.Labelling children is never good,and making them feel bad over having a snack,no matter what it is,is only going to make matters worse! Much better to always offer them a healthy option,and the chocolate etc for an occasional treat,but as i pointed out,some children do need to add weight,so please dont leap to assumptions.(my sons were very prem babies,but now are healthy weights,at proper centile for their age)not overweight.

My son was always ravenous when I picked him up, especially if he'd just had, rugby or swimming. I started taking an egg or cheese sandwich and/or a banana. Kept him going until dinner time.

Poor kids. Imagine being starving at break time and being offered a piece of apple! Bring on the carbs I say! If children are properly active they shouldn't get fat. We seemed to live on a diet of sugar as children but walked to and from school (ran if we were late) and played out at every available opportunity. Don't recall seeing overweight children then.

our Local primary school gives all the children apiece
Of fresh fruit, apple, banana etc their choice, at break time

I went to Boarding School in the 60’s and 70’s and we always had a snack straight after school with a dinner much later after prep. My children needed something to keep them going (not sweets though) as their mood dropped when their blood sugars fell. Often children don’t have a large lunch because they are anxious about getting a long play time.

My daughter has a friend whose son is in the same class as my grandson. As soon as the children come out from school my daughter's friend brings out sweets/crisps/biscuits for her son. My grandson knows he has to wait until he is home for anything, and then that is fruit, until he has his evening meal. His little friend was invited to my grandson's house after school recently and 'demanded' crisps and biscuits from my daughter. Thankfully she stood her ground and said he could have a banana or an apple - suddenly he wasn't hungry!

My DD does often have a "little treat"for GDS1 when he comes out of School. He either has packed lunch or school dinner (depends on menu on the day, DD can choose week by week for school meals as there are some things he won't eat). DGS1 is 8, always hungry, loves fruit, not so keen on veg but getting better, loves cucumber. He's stick thin, runs around a lot & attends 2 swimming classes after School each week, one of these is Competitive Swimming. It's a rare treat to go to "the big arch beginning with M" & meals at home are healthy. I was a skinny child, teen & into my mid 30s, I now struggle with my weight at aged 62. Only "fast food" I ever had was the occasional treat of Fish & Chips, I'm still not a fan of burgers

Is anyone just a bit worried about the Nanny state taking over. DGS starts school at 8.15, hot lunch at 12.15 with fruit for dessert, water on the table for drinking.
Finishes at 15.15 home at 15.30 sandwich and milk or fruit juice then family dinner at 19.00/30.
Snacks are not banned at school in packed lunches yet when I attended his annual School concert and féte a couple of weeks ago very few children were overweight.
There was a BBQ, sweets were on offer and his take home bag from his teacher contained a couple of sweets.
Oh and beers and wine were also on sale and it was a lovely afternoon out.

How much should schools be telling parents how to look after their children, is UK society in such a bad way that a Primary School Teacher can dictate to them how to bring up their children?
Opening a can of worms here I suppose but if an overweight 'Celebrity Chef' is dictating to an entire nation how to feed their children there is something very wrong.

On their mother's instructions, we always take a snack when picking them up and it is always devoured as if they hadn't eaten since breakfast!

I agree with gillybob that there were quite a lot of assumptions being made by OP. Both our GC are very slender as they are always active so easily burn off the calorie intake. Snacking does not necessarily result in obesity.

I live on the South Coast and occasionally pick up my neighbours seven year old daughter. I was amazed at how many parents come with bags of sweets or crisps for their children. Only one I saw with fruit.
However, is it an area thing ? Trying to tread carefully here. My 6 and 9 year old granddaughters live in the Borough of Richmond, I haven't seen any bags of goodies for the children.
When mine were little they had a snack and drink after school at home. I hate this eating on the hoof so prevalent nowadays.

Near, not menar!

Not being in the position of picking children up from school, I can’t comment on school gate snacks. However, calling in for the paper at the local shop of a morning, it is not unusual to see young mums with children picking out sweets and things like sausage rolls. Never sure if that’s meant to be lunch or breakfast! Also if we happen to be menar the shops after school, quite a few mums drop in to the chippy for bags of chips for them.