Introducing and managing snacks
Introducing snacks for weaning and then managing them for toddlers can be a bit of minefield. When I do my social media Q&A’s, snacking is one of the most common question themes that comes up. Information can be variable online and it can be difficult to know which approach you should follow and what is right for your baby or child. This blog provides general guidance on introducing snacks and how to manage snacking in your toddler/preschool child.
Does my child need to snack?
Most small children need to eat at regular intervals throughout the day in order to give their body energy to fuel them across their waking hours. Some children can manage to go longer periods without eating, but for the majority if they don’t eat they can get ‘hangry’.
When should I introduce a snack?
The NHS suggests that from one year your baby may need two snacks a day. When weaning your baby to solid foods you may notice that your formula fed baby is drinking less milk and that they ‘drop’ a feed from around 9 months. At this stage if you find that the gaps between meals and bottles are longer than around 3 hours you can introduce a snack if that feels right for your baby. By the age of one year you can aim for your formula fed baby to be taking no milk during the day and having 3 meals with two snacks each day. This is usually topped and tailed with milk on waking and at bedtime.
Breastfed babies tend to feed responsively around their mealtimes as they are being weaned onto solids. If your breastfed baby is weaning well there is no need to ‘drop’ feeds or introduce snacks before the age of one year. After the first year you may find that your breastfed baby starts to become a lot more interested in their environment and less interested in day time feeding. At this point snacks can be introduced. For some toddlers this may happen not long after their first birthday for others it may closer to 18 months and both is fine.
What is a typical meal and snack routine for my one year old?
Ideally snacks should be interspersed between meals at regular intervals between eating times. Every child’s routine is different with different wake, nap and bedtimes which makes it hard to provide prescriptive plans for typical days. I’ve created three routines below, you can pick the one that suits you and your child the best and add in your own times. They are routines for a typical day, an early riser and a dinner refuser. The individual routines can be also be downloaded from here and printed.
What should I offer for snacks and how much food should I give?
Snacks should be small portions of healthy foods, you could see them as ‘mini meals’. As a guide each snack should make up 10% of your child’s total daily intake (including milk). First Steps Nutrition has a really helpful downloadable snack ideas guide for children ages 1-4 if you are looking for snack ideas.
Be mindful that little ones who snack may eat less at their main meals as they are taking around 20% of their overall energy requires via their snacks and even more if they are also drinking formula or breastfeeding. This is useful to know as it will help you to manage your expectations. There is no concrete guidance on portion sizes, especially when weaning so it is important to be responsive and follow your little one’s lead when it comes to how much they eat at snacks and meals. However the amounts you serve also play’s a part. I know with my kids that if the snack portions are too big they may fill up and just take a few bites of dinner so it is important to get the balance right.
What should I do? My kid asks for snacks all day long and doesn’t eat their main meals.
If you give snacks on demand your child will end up grazing throughout the day. They may be less likely to eat a larger single meal but more likely will take small bits of food every time they eat. There is a developmental fussy eating phase looming at around one year of age, so it is useful to be in control of meals and snacks as this hits.
If you want your child to eat reasonable portions of your home cooked food at mealtimes then you need to create boundaries around mealtimes and snacks. The first step is to know your own routine - base it around your child and the structure of your family day. Decide when are the meals and when will the snacks be. The next step is to communicate this to your child. At the end of each meal you can tell them when the next eating opportunity will be and that there will be nothing else to eat before then. You can find more information around managing mealtimes and snacks on my online fussy eating course.
If your child asks for food or a snack before that time you can tell them that it is not an eating time right now but the next eating time will happen either at a certain time or if your child is younger you can say it will happen after a certain event. It does take time to establish a change in routine and behaviour. You may need ride out some tricky moments for a few days and gently support them through the transition but once you get there you will likely see your child eating main meals with more enthusiasm.
For more tips about managing snacks, navigating weaning or toddler feeding follow me @feedeatspeak. If you are stuck in a rut and feel that you need additional support or guidance then check out my online courses or email me team@feedeatspeak.co.uk as I offer troubleshooting calls and virtual consultations too.
