What do your kids have for a bed-time snack?

[Scott Lindstrom]

I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
cookies.


Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6

[Claire Petersky]

"Scott Lindstrom" > wrote in message
...
>
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.

Emma for years had a carrot for a "bednight" snack. She's always been a
somewhat fussy eater, but as a toddler was much worse than she is now. She
did like carrots, though. The carrot thing got started about the time that
she quit having milk before bed time. I guess I never worried about choking,
and carrots to me seemed nutritious, and would ok even after having brushed
her teeth. I'd give her her carrot and then say good night, and she'd gnaw
on it before going to sleep.

I figure those carrots made up for many other deficiencies in her diet. Even
if she ate nothing but white and beige foods at lunch and dinner, an
enormous carrot at bedtime would have fiber and vitamins. Every so once in a
while I'd find a petrified carrot top or two inside her bedside drawer, a
small price to pay.


--
Warm Regards,


Claire Petersky
Please substitute earthlink.net for mousepotato.com
Home of the meditative cyclist at:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at:
http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

[David desJardins]

Scott Lindstrom writes:
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl of wheaties or
> cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts it all). DD is all over
> the place, sometimes ice cream -- one scoop -- sometimes an apple or
> banana, sometimes cookies.

My three-year-olds will often eat popsicles, or a few chocolate-covered
raisins or M&Ms, or some dried or fresh fruit. (Or just some of
whatever I'm having for dinner, since I often come home and have dinner
between 8 and 9 pm, shortly before they start the final stage of getting
ready for bed. And they often like to eat whatever I'm eating.)

I wouldn't want them to eat ice cream every night. While 3-year-olds
don't really have an issue with consuming too much fat (or too much
saturated fat), especially my kids, who are thin, I think it doesn't set
a good pattern for later in life. I was in the habit of eating ice
cream every night, for a while (as an adult), and I only stopped because
I realized that it really wasn't healthy. Now I just have ice cream
once in a while, and try to more commonly have things that I like about
as much, but that don't have so much fat.

David desJardins

[Robyn Kozierok]

In article <xrzhb.722132$Ho3.175848@sccrnsc03>,
Claire Petersky > wrote:

>Emma for years had a carrot for a "bednight" snack. She's always been a
>somewhat fussy eater, but as a toddler was much worse than she is now. She
>did like carrots, though. The carrot thing got started about the time that
>she quit having milk before bed time. I guess I never worried about choking,
>and carrots to me seemed nutritious, and would ok even after having brushed
>her teeth.

Cheese is a very good snack to have after brushing teeth because it has
a cavity-inhibiting effect. (For those who remember her, I learned
this from Paula Burch on misc.kids a long time ago.)

My kids don't usually have a bedtime snack, I realize as I read this thread.

--Robyn

[Rosalie B.]

Scott Lindstrom > wrote:

>
>I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
>chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
>of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
>it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
>one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
>cookies.
>
>Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6

Mine didn't have a bed-time snack. It never occurred to me to give
them one after they were weaned.

My mom was of the opinion that my dad didn't feel a meal was complete
unless he had something sweet, no matter how tiny at the end. So he
had to have something at the end of dinner even when dieting.

But that didn't translate into a bedtime snack - for anybody -

grandma Rosalie

[Splanche]

>I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
>chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
>of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
>it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
>one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
>cookies.
>
>
>Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6
>
>
To me, a bed time snack is something small-- usually cheese or raisins-- maybe
a banana.
I'd be concerned that eating that much carbs (ice cream and cereal) that late
could disrupt sleep patterns.
What time do your kids eat dinner? It sounds healthier to give them a small
snack before dinner, and just make dinner later if they are this hungry before
bed.
In our house, dinner is at about 6pm, then we sometimes wait until 7:30 for
dessert, and by 8:30 it's time to start upstairs for a 9pm lights out.

[user]

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 10:42:55 EDT, Claire Petersky > wrote:
> "Scott Lindstrom" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
>> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
>> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
>> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
>> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
>> cookies.
>
> Emma for years had a carrot for a "bednight" snack. She's always been a
> somewhat fussy eater, but as a toddler was much worse than she is now. She
> did like carrots, though. The carrot thing got started about the time that
> she quit having milk before bed time. I guess I never worried about choking,
> and carrots to me seemed nutritious, and would ok even after having brushed
> her teeth. I'd give her her carrot and then say good night, and she'd gnaw
> on it before going to sleep.
>
> I figure those carrots made up for many other deficiencies in her diet. Even
> if she ate nothing but white and beige foods at lunch and dinner, an
> enormous carrot at bedtime would have fiber and vitamins. Every so once in a
> while I'd find a petrified carrot top or two inside her bedside drawer, a
> small price to pay.

Both our kids LOVE ice cream cones as their bedtime snack - no ice cream,
mind you, just the cones.

My 3 yr old also, more often than not, chooses to eat pickles.

[Scott Lindstrom]

Splanche wrote:
>>I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
>>chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
>>of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
>>it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
>>one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
>>cookies.
>>
>>
>>Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6
>>
>>
>
> To me, a bed time snack is something small-- usually cheese or raisins-- maybe
> a banana.
> I'd be concerned that eating that much carbs (ice cream and cereal) that late
> could disrupt sleep patterns.
> What time do your kids eat dinner? It sounds healthier to give them a small
> snack before dinner, and just make dinner later if they are this hungry before
> bed.
> In our house, dinner is at about 6pm, then we sometimes wait until 7:30 for
> dessert, and by 8:30 it's time to start upstairs for a 9pm lights out.
>

We usually eat 5ish, although lately it's been after 6.
Bedtime for DS is 8, so he usually is having his
snack before then. He has no problem at all falling
asleep, or sleeping.

DS is a total carb fiend. He'd eat nothing but
pasta if we'd accommodate him.

Scott DD 10 and DS 7

[David desJardins]

Splanche writes:
> To me, a bed time snack is something small-- usually cheese or
> raisins-- maybe a banana. I'd be concerned that eating that much
> carbs (ice cream and cereal) that late could disrupt sleep patterns.

I took "bedtime snack" to mean anything eaten after dinner. My
3-year-olds generally eat dinner around 6:00 or 6:30, and they don't go
to sleep until around 10:30. That's a long time, and sometimes they
want some pretty substantial food in that interval, which seems
reasonable to me.

David desJardins

[Kevin Karplus]

My 7-year-old son insists on an apple every night, cut up, though he
will accept melon in season.

We've recently added a cup of milk to his bedtime snack, since we
worry about him not getting enough calcium and protein during the day.

We brush his teeth (he refuses to brush his own) after his snack.


--
Kevin Karplus http://www.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus
life member (LAB, Adventure Cycling, American Youth Hostels)
Effective Cycling Instructor #218-ck (lapsed)
Professor of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz
Undergraduate and Graduate Director, Bioinformatics
Affiliations for identification only.

[Rosalie B.]

x-no-archive:yes David desJardins > wrote:

>Splanche writes:
>> To me, a bed time snack is something small-- usually cheese or
>> raisins-- maybe a banana. I'd be concerned that eating that much
>> carbs (ice cream and cereal) that late could disrupt sleep patterns.
>
Some people's sleep patterns are easy to interrupt and some are not.
My dh can't eat anything before bed because of reflux. But that's
recent. *I* can eat anything any time, and still sleep just fine.
Is that really a problem with children - that carbs disrupt their
sleep patterns? In what way does this manifest itself. I have been
totally unaware of this possibility for my whole life. I mean it
never even occurred to me.

>I took "bedtime snack" to mean anything eaten after dinner. My

I took it to mean immediately before bedtime. So dinner at 6, and
bedtime at 9, the bedtime snack would be about 8:30 to 8:45.
Otherwise it would be just a late dessert.

So if the dinner was eaten at 6 and the table was cleared and the
dishes were taken care of, and then at 7 they had ice cream - that
would still just be the dessert after dinner.

>3-year-olds generally eat dinner around 6:00 or 6:30, and they don't go
>to sleep until around 10:30. That's a long time, and sometimes they
>want some pretty substantial food in that interval, which seems
>reasonable to me.
>
Yes but the OPs children are 10 and 7+ IIRC. So a different eating
pattern and schedule. School age children are generally in bed before
10:30 IME.


grandma Rosalie

[LFortier]

Scott Lindstrom wrote:
>
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.
>
>
> Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6
>

Does your son eat like that at all his meals? <awestruck>

Usually my girls have a cookie or two or ice cream and a
glass of milk.

Lesley

[just me]

"Scott Lindstrom" > wrote in message
...
>
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.


We vary from popcorn from the microwave to fruit, to yogurt to frozen fruit
juice, to crackers to the occassional icecream. DS can put it away and
often ask for more, but we are trying to encourage more intake earlier in
the day and less in the evenings.

-Aula

[Beeswing]

x-no-archive: yes

"Rosalie B." > wrote in message
...
>
> I took it to mean immediately before bedtime. So dinner at 6, and
> bedtime at 9, the bedtime snack would be about 8:30 to 8:45.
> Otherwise it would be just a late dessert.

I took it the same way.

My daughter is 8-3/4, and I try to avoid giving her a last-minute
bedtime snack. For her, requesting something to eat that late is less
about hunger and more about wanting an excuse to drag out her bedtime. A
snack or dessert earlier in the evening is fine -- if it's not *always*
a dessert-y dessert (e.g., cookies, ice cream). I don't want her to grow
up thinking that eating dessert is mandatory; I'd rather she think of it
as a small-scale special occasion. (I don't think this is working,
though!)

beeswing

[H Schinske]

wrote:

>*I* can eat anything any time, and still sleep just fine.
>Is that really a problem with children - that carbs disrupt their
>sleep patterns? In what way does this manifest itself. I have been
>totally unaware of this possibility for my whole life. I mean it
>never even occurred to me.

With me, if I've eaten too much too close to bedtime, I always wake up
overheated. I think it probably has something to do with processing the
calories. I don't know that it's a question of carbs necessarily. But then, I'm
firmly in the camp that if your pancreas is in good working order, carbs are
fine any time.

I had a pretty iron digestion when I was a kid -- don't remember anything
bothering my stomach except actual illness or being severely upset emotionally.

I do eat bedtime snacks myself, but it's a bad habit and I really shouldn't. My
kids don't, but generally they're in bed only a couple of hours after dinner is
over. It would never have occurred to me to even offer them a bedtime snack,
probably because of their schedule.

--Helen

[Penny Gaines]

Scott Lindstrom wrote in >:

>
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.

If they are hungry at bedtime, they are allowed rice cakes.
Sometimes they have hot chocolate to drink.

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

[Marijke]

Never occurred to me to give them one and they never asked. Now, at ages 12,
14 and 16, they take what they want if they're hungry.

Marijke

"Scott Lindstrom" > wrote in message
...
>
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.
>
>
> Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6
>

[Chris Himes]

Scott Lindstrom > wrote in message >...
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.


Our kids usually have some kind of snack after dinner. Most often it
is popcorn or pretzels and cheese, they aren't too big on ice cream.
They do like italian ice or klondike bars in the summer. A bowl of
cereal was popular when they were younger, now they are more apt to
just eat dry cereal. We never serve dessert with dinner and don't
often have "dessert" items around. Sometimes I'll bake cookies,
brownies or the occassional cake. I grew up with "bedtime snacks" and
have continued the practice as part of our bedtime routine--snack,
bath, brush, book, bed!


Chris

[chiam margalit]

Scott Lindstrom > wrote in message >...
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.
>
>
> Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6


We've never been bedtime snackers in our house. My nutritionist limits
all my food intake to before 7:30 pm, so that kind of leaves my
snacking out of the picture. DD eats a decent dinner and rarely wants
anything more. But DS has entered the "hollow leg" part of puberty and
he eats a meal, then a second meal, and mostly a third meal before
bedtime. And he's infamous for sneaking a big box of HoneyNut Cheereos
(I buy 3 of the biggest boxes every week) and eating that at night. He
can pack in a half box easy sometime around 2am. He's on meds during
the day that inhibit eating, so almost all his food intake is at
night, and it's astonishing to watch. He inhales food.

Both kids have a piece of fruit sometime between dinner and around 8
pm. Boy is an apple eater, girl only likes exotics like kiwi, melon,
pineapple, nectarines, and plums. Thank goodness for our good farmers
market.

Marjorie

[BJ Weber]

Scott Lindstrom > wrote in message >...
> I'm just being curious. DS almost always has 3 scoops of mint
> chocolate chip ice cream, sometimes followed by a bowl
> of wheaties or cheerios. (I have *no* clue where he puts
> it all). DD is all over the place, sometimes ice cream --
> one scoop -- sometimes an apple or banana, sometimes
> cookies.
>
>
> Scott DD 10.3 and DS 7.6

Just a tip on what a nutritional snack would be, I think peanut butter
toast and a glass of milk is a good snack.Kids seem to sleep better on
a full stomach than an empty one.My kids are all grown and I am now a
grandmother, I still use the peanut butter toast and milk for a snack
and it is a hit at grandmas house.

[just me]

"BJ Weber" > wrote in message
om...
> Just a tip on what a nutritional snack would be, I think peanut butter
> toast and a glass of milk is a good snack.Kids seem to sleep better on
> a full stomach than an empty one.My kids are all grown and I am now a
> grandmother, I still use the peanut butter toast and milk for a snack
> and it is a hit at grandmas house.
>


My favorite evening snack is a celery stick or two stuffed with peanut
butter. Very tasty and healthy. Also pretty filling.

-Aula