Food battles with kids can leave parents drained and hopeless. If I had a nickel for every single time I’ve bargained with my child just to eat one more bite of pasta, I’d have, like, so many nickels!
Part of the issue lies in the fact that my daughter is constantly asking me for snacks, to which I obliged because I always tell her to listen to her body when it comes to feeling hungry, full, etc. Then, by the time 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. rolls around, she’s full and has zero interest in the dinner I slaved over (frozen chicken nuggets and berries).
One mom on TikTok might have solved this perpetual problem that so many of us seem to struggle with when it comes to meal times with our kids — serve them a full dinner during snack time!
“I feel my kids at 3 p.m., and I’m going to tell you why,” TikTok mom, Aims, says in her video. “Currently 2:39 p.m., I am making dinner.”
Aims explains that her children — aged 5, 3, and 1 — have just woken up from their nap. She immediately puts them in the bath while she preps dinner.
“They always wake up from their naps [ravenous]. So why not feed them the most amount of nutrients now and then snack later?” she says before sharing she also caps off dinner with an ice cream dessert.
“We eat in silence because everyone’s eating their ice cream, and then it frees up the rest of the night. Play games. I can do a workout. So, there’s no pressure. And we later we do bedtime toast.”
Okay, is this the most brilliant idea ever? There is no law against eating meals at unconventional times, so why not?
Several other TikTok followers agreed with this sentiment, praising Aims for her brilliant switch-up.
“Did you just crack the code to getting through the 4-6pm craze?!? 😍” one user wrote.
“I started feeding my kids dinner at 3/4pm when they’re hungry after seeing you doing it. I don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier!! Game changer,” another said.
One user wrote, “I love when people realise there are better times to eat than the standard breakfast, lunch and dinner times 🤌🏼”
While most people thought Aim’s new approach to meal times was genius, others had their doubts.
“This works great until sports, dance and school events start happening,” one user claimed.
“Or if you don’t have two parents home. Even with a SAHM most are doing the school pick ups,” another replied.
Another mom chimed in and said, “I’m seeing this good idea, reading aaaall of the comments and wondering.. but where are the working moms? I KNOW there are moms that work?”
“I’m guessing that for the major of the women this isn’t feasible. It’s a privilege,” another said.
Does the time of the meal really matter that much? Why are we all staving our kids off until dinner time, slowly rationing out snacks until dinner when we could just feed them the good stuff (the stuff we beg them to eat) when they are actually hungry? Then, when they get a little snack before bed, that’s when you hand over a banana or some crackers. This just makes sense!
