Kristen in San Antonio, shared a tip with me that I have to pass along to benefit everyone. This is awesome. Summer is just around the corner. For most of us, that means kids will be around much, much more. And what kid doesn’t want to graze and snack all day?
Kristen, mother of 5 boys, uses Rubbermaid containers, one per child. She fills their jars once a week with 14 snacks (2 per day) and then they have access to them any time. She says, “This gives them the freedom of choosing what they want but also gives me some control on what they are eating. They know there is enough for two snacks a day and if they choose to have more on one day then they will have to have less on another.”
Being creative, Kristen lined the containers with scrapbook paper so they can be changed with the theme of the kitchen or holiday and used rubons to put their names on the jars.
Brilliant, Kristen. Thanks for sharing!
Tags: snacks
Great idea! I love that this teaches kids to “budget” their snacks. Important self-control lessons here!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Katie's Nesting Spot, Becky Higgins. Becky Higgins said: Need ideas on organizing snacks & treats for the kiddos? This is cool. http://tinyurl.com/2667yqw [...]
Love it! Now I’d love to know what kind of snacks do mommies allow their kids to have?
I leave four kids home during the summer and they were eating me out of house and home…so like Kristen, I found four buckets, put each kids initial on the front, and filled it with snacks for the week. My 10 year old boy liked to eat them all in two days for a week or two, and then quickly realized that wasn’t the greatest plan. It worked out really well though, and it was actually kind of fun filling the buckets for them
As the mom of 3 boys, I could see them eating each others snacks. I have to keep the snacks in our house hidden, except for the frig stuff like fruit, yogurt, and veggies.
This … both my 35 y.o. DD and my 15 y.o. grandson are junk food hounds, so I hide the snacks.
I LOVE this idea. And I LOVE how it looks.
I’m really curious what snacks she keeps inside each container (maybe fruit snacks, granola bars, etc.?).
I like for my kids to be able to eat fruits and veggies whenever they want them, but of course they always want something else. This would help to cut down on that and help to teach self-control.
Thanks for sharing, Becky!
Totally thank you for sharing this idea! I was just discussing this with a friend yesterday, how my kids are going to be snacking all the time!! I am getting some containers and getting this together…pronto!!
I think elements of this idea are great. None of us want our kids eating all day nor do we want them snacking on junk. However, they are people too who get hungry and sometimes they get hungry at times when “we” think they shouldn’t be. Much like ourselves!. I think there is merit to this – perhaps offering them a few snacks a week that are special and once they are gone, that’s it! We have the freedom to snack when we are hungry and so should kids. Again, all within reason.
Love this idea. Thank you for sharing.:)
I am happy you all liked the idea
I have been doing it for a couple of years now and it has been great! A couple of you asked what kind of snacks….. I usually give them things like applesauce, granola bars, nutri-grain bars, fruit leather, snack size bags filled with trail mix or goldfish or chex mix or pretzels, apples etc. I usually include a couple of their ‘unhealthy’ favorites like a pop-tart or honey bun. If I choose to include something like a popsicle or frozen fruit pop, or string cheese I just write their name on it and let them know that there might be 12 snacks in the jar and 2 in the freezer/fridge. Of course I still have a fruit basket that they can have anytime.
@Debbyrose- In the very beginning one of my sons snacks came up ‘missing’ and so I had each of the other 4 boys give him one out of their jar and it never happened again
wow kristen that is such an awesome idea!
LOVE this idea – and I am going to do this with my four boys since we seem to have problems with snacks. Thanks for sharing
That is an AWESOME idea!!!! I will definitely be trying that this summer!
what a great idea
LOVE this. Will definitely be implementing in my house, along with the “Jar of Boredom.”
I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!!! I’ll be getting my containers this week-end for my crew!!!! So brilliant. Thanks for sharing……………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To Anne Z: Jar of Boredom? what’s that, I’d love to hear about that Jar
)))) nothing peeves me more than hearing my kids say they’re bored!!!!!
I lovethis idea but I know my 3 boys would end up going into each others jars, especially the oldest he is always taking snacks from the younger 2
I saw this idea on Supernanny. So clever!
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Thank you for this very nice post, I was searching this very same topic for a research paper for school and I am so glad I found this, It has helped me so much.
Hyori is so hot! I appreciate her style so much!
Kpop rocks!
Wow. Thankyou for sharing. I certainly did not think about this particular issue in that way before and it opened some serious discussion for me on this topic.
MMMmm, I’ve just read something similar on another site.
Awesome photos! I love the post so much! xoxo
Thinking about this made me think of a quote. was something like: “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
oversized sunglasses…
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