Snacks that hold them over without a fight

Why snacks turn into a fight

Most snack arguments are really timing arguments. A child who has grazed since breakfast is never quite hungry at lunch, then genuinely hungry an hour later, and the whole day slides. Small stomachs do need topping up between meals, so the answer is rarely fewer snacks. It is usually snacks that happen at a predictable time and in a predictable place.

Handing food over in the buggy or in front of the telly also makes it hard to tell where a snack ends. When food arrives on a plate at a table, there is a natural finish, and "all done" is something your child can see rather than something you have to announce.

What to put out

Aim for two things together: something with a bit of substance and something they reliably eat. Toast fingers with cream cheese. Plain yoghurt with chopped fruit. Oatcakes and hummus. Banana and a few pieces of cheese. A snack built only from crackers or dry cereal tends to be gone in a minute and leave them asking again straight away.

Keep the portion small and let them ask for more. Putting out less than you think they want, twice, is calmer than clearing away a full plate. Water is the drink that works alongside almost anything; milk is filling, so it lands better as the snack itself than as a drink with one.

Holding the line kindly

A named time is easier for everyone than a judgement call. "Snack is after we get back from the park" gives you something to repeat without it feeling like a refusal each time. Expect to repeat it. You can be warm and still be finished: sitting with them while the plate goes away tends to do more than explaining why.

If a snack is close to a meal, it is fine to shrink it rather than skip it. A hungry, tired child at five o'clock does not usually make it to a six o'clock dinner in good shape.

Out of the house

Snacks out and about are where the plan usually slips, because whatever is in the bag becomes the snack. Packing the same couple of things you would serve at home, in a small pot, keeps it consistent and saves the shop-doorway negotiation.

Try to keep the buggy from becoming a rolling buffet. Stopping on a bench for five minutes, even in the cold, gives the snack a beginning and an end in a way that handing pieces backwards over your shoulder never does.

If other people give your child snacks, at nursery pickup or at a grandparent's, that is not worth a battle. Adjust what you offer at home rather than trying to control every plate your child sees.

Long car journeys are their own thing. Food in a moving car is harder to keep an eye on, so stick to soft, easy pieces and hand them over at stops where you can. Crumbs on the back seat are a small price next to an hour of protest.

Try this together

Muffin Tin Sort from 18 months · 5-10 min Unpack The Shopping from 14 months · 20-30 min Teddy Tea Party from 24 months · 20-40 min

More food guides

When they refuse vegetables Keep offering the same vegetable, without asking them to eat it. Getting started cooking together Pick one job out of a recipe you were cooking anyway. Mealtime without the iPad Change one meal first, not all three.