Like many of her 2-year-old peers, my toddler is a big snacker.
In between meals, you often can find her noshing on Pirate’s Booty, popsicles, cheese, crackers, cereal and a myriad of other snack foods. But while my husband and I are pretty laid back regarding our daughter’s eating habits, we do try to keep her snack consumption somewhat in check, and aim to limit the amount of salty and sugary food we give her.
However, curtailing snack consumption is easier said than done, especially given that our toddler is always asking for “more please.” Lately, however, we’ve had some success using a clever technique my husband came up with that is today’s hint.
His trick: He breaks snacks like crackers into multiple small pieces before he gives them to our daughter. My daughter is happy because she thinks she’s getting more snacks than she actually is, and my husband and I are happy because we’re keeping our tot’s snack eating somewhat under control.
To be sure, the break-it-up approach doesn’t work with all snacks. It’s hard, for instance, to rip up a popsicle or a piece of Pirate’s Booty. For such snacks, we’ve developed other related tricks. In regards to popsicles, we give our daughter tiny popsicles called Mighty Minis, so we don’t feel so bad if she eats two, three or even four. Meanwhile, for snacks like Pirate’s Booty or Cheerios, we give our little one just a tiny bit in bowls (toddlers only need small servings anyway).
There also are other smart strategies you can try, including a sit-to-snack approach advocated by KC Kids Doc Natasha Burgert, having set snack times (a trick Heather Flett of Rookie Moms uses on weekends) and offering only one snack a day (a clever money-saving tip Pamela Druckerman shared on Cheapism.com).
What do you think of my husband’s trick? What are your tips for curtailing snack consumption?
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