When our oldest son was born, I fully expected to be feeding him every few hours all days every days for months because that’s what’s babies do, right? What I didn’t expect was the number of times he would continue to eat a day for the next several years. He’s down to 5 (6?) times a day. He’s a 6 year old rising first grader.
While I marvel at his (and his brothers’!) ability to eat us out of house and home years before they are teenagers, I struggled for a long time with the feeling that I never left the kitchen. I would clean up from a meal and move on to another task only get to get asked for a snack again. Being environmentally and economically conscientious with how I bought food, snacks meant I would have to get out a plate or bowl, get the food out of the large container in the pantry or the fridge, pour a cup of water or milk, give it to him, and then clean him and everything up 15 minutes later. It was demoralizing to say the least. Enter snack bins!
Using Kids’ Want of Independence
I know I wasn’t logical enough to come up with this concept, but I can’t remember where I learned of it. Otherwise I might send the wise soul a very large gift. Kids want to do things themselves. I wanted the boys to be more self-sufficient and to not feel so tied to our kitchen. The creation of snack bins should have been a no-brainer! Well it wasn’t for me and I don’t want this frustration for you.
The concept is simple; you put together a special place filled with acceptable snacks in easy reach of the kid and teach limits that work for you. With the prize of being in more control, most kids will follow the rules relatively easily. I set these up when Dand was barely 5 and Tam was 2 1/2 years old. We’ve only had to correct them a half dozen times in the 18 months the bins have been in use. Within days of creating them the snack frustration was gone.
Building in Limits
I was a bit concerned about the availability of “unlimited” food in between meals causing problems, but it hasn’t been an issue at all. One reason is because at snack time I tell them the number of items they can get (“Two things from you snack bin” or “One thing from your snack bin and one from the fridge bin”). The second reason is that I am choosing both the quality and quantity of the snacks. The last reason is that kids naturally self-regulate their food intake. Also I fill them up on water! 🙂 I have had to allow myself to use more plastic baggies and individual servings, but have been working in re-usable baggies and washable containers.
Ty liked the idea so much that he asked for his own snack bin. He and I share it, and the boys each have their own for a total of four in the pantry. We also ended up adding two bins to the fridge to expand the variety and healthy options. Here are the snacks that I use and others that could be a good choice for you. Everything needs to be divided into serving sizes, and I have tips for that below.
Pantry or Counter Snacks
- Bananas
- Applesauce pouches
- Raisins
- Goldfish
- Granola or granola bars
- Graham crackers
- Peanut butter cracker sandwiches
- Cheese cracker sandwiches
- Pretzels
- Fruit snack (who said everything had to be healthy?)
Fridge Snacks
- Yogurt tubes or cups
- String cheese
- Chunk cheese (like for cheese and crackers)
- Carrots sticks
- Celery sticks
- Apples
- Clementines
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Basically any fresh fruit you decide to buy and cut up for easy consumption
- Summer sausage (in the line of cheese and cracker tray with meats)
Rounding Out Snacking Needs
Now if you were in my shoes, you’d think we’re good to go. Well if we’re playing out this scenario, you’d realize in about two days that drinks are still a problem. I was so proud of myself that I didn’t stop and think that I’d still be asked for drinks ALL THE TIME! The simple solution is to include them in the bin concept. When we started Tam was still pretty little, so I filled a few juice ad water sippy cups for him and put them on the bottom self in the fridge every morning. Dand got our plastic “snack cups” in his pantry bin because he was old enough to use the fridge water dispenser and pour himself some juice. So the fridge bins, allowed juice and milk, and pre-filled sippy cups became the only things on the bottom shelf of the fridge. Tam is now big enough to have graduated to his own empty cups in his pantry bin.
Spills are to be expected when kids are feeding themselves, right? Well that means teaching them to get a kitchen towels to clean up the mess, but in terms of snacks bin it means the inclusion of some napkins. In our house, napkins in the holder on the table are apparently not allowed to be used so I add some to their bins every week. One more very small step for me, but cleaner kids and table. That’s a win in my book.
Setting Limits without Arguments
If kids don’t know they have choices, I swear they fight so much less. So I use that to my advantage. I fill the bins on Saturday mornings after coming home from the grocery store. Doing it then means that the counter is kind of a mess and the boys aren’t paying attention. I don’t have a set limit of how much I put it; it depends on what the mix is that week.
First I split up any individually packages snacks into the bins, and store any extras up out of sight. I also pull out anything that was pushed at Costco and similarly hidden. Then I take my plastic baggies and measuring cups out. In general, a third of a cup of any snack is enough for a pre-school/elementary aged child for shelf-stable foods like crackers. Don’t try to be exact, just do what makes sense for you. Since I also use these bins to pull food for packed lunches a few days a week, I usually fill it to nearly the top. Take a few weeks to experiment with how much works for you.
Once the pantry is done, I wash and cut up the fruit. My preferred serving size is about half a cup, and I usually err on the side of more. Once that is all done, I add the cheese options and pull yogurt tubes out of the freezer to complete the fridge bins. These bins are always overflowing and I always encourage their use first as fruit is healthier than crackers. All of this takes me around 20 minutes every week. And I never fill them in the middle of the week. There you go boys, eat too much against my instructions on Monday means no snack on Friday! Let them do this once or twice and they will never do it again.
Treats!
I wouldn’t be honest with you if I said they always had healthier snacks. Come on, I’m a mom who likes to spoil the kids sometimes! Occasionally I’ll add a couple of servings of their favorite cookies or other surprise treat. I never tell them letting them have the joy of finding it and telling their brothers. Makes me look like a great mom and gives me an excuse to get more little boys hugs and kisses that I know will disappear soon as they grow up.
Have you decided to use snack bins yet? Did you already have them and just read to find more ideas (I hope I could help!)? What did you do differently to make them work for your family? Are you having problems getting them going or convincing your kids? Let me know in the comments!