Snack - a - holic!!!

[ark]

OK.  So my DS gets a snack a daycare, but no matter what time I get home he is hanging from my leg wanting more snack from the time we get home until dinner is ready.  I've tried giving him as much as he wants to none at all and its the same either way.  Constant whining and crying until dinner.  If I give him a lot of snack of course he won't eat a very good dinner. 

Has this just become a bad habit?  Should I just cut off the snacks for a week to see if he will change?  I really don't think he's STARVING because if the dog is there he gives 90% of it to him!!   

[Joey'sMom]

Joey has always been the same...it always seems to be during a transitional time.  At the end of his tv show, when he just arrives home, anytime something changes. 

I can usually hold him off if I can entice him with something else: reading a book, stickers, a favorite toy.  I have to sit down with him of course to get it going, but I can usually leave him to play independently after a few minutes. 

Have you tried just offering him a drink instead of a snack?  I know it seems like just replacing one thing with another, but maybe just to avoid so much snacking?

[ark]

Yes, I always give him something to drink, hoping that will work, and it does for about 5 minutes.  Then it starts again.  I also try to get him interested in a toy, which also works for about 5 minutes. 

Thanks for the suggestions.  Maybe it's just a phase that will pass.  Maybe someday he'll understand it takes more than 2 seconds to cook dinner!!

[happy hollow]

I have worked in daycare for a long time, and I think the snack is just a comfort thing.  They've been in a different place all day, eating someone else's food, and when they get home they just want to reestablish their home life.  Does that make  sense?  What time does he have snack at daycare?  How old is your son?  How long has he been going to daycare?  When do you get home from daycare?  Have you tried using a slowcooker, so that the meal is actually ready when you get home?  What does he get for snack?  I used to have a daycare in the basement of a family with a 2 year old son.  He would do the same thing to his mom, so she started putting out a plate of veggies for him as soon as they got home.  If he was truly hungry, he would eat, otherwise he left it alone.  It became part of their routine, and the whining stopped.  Don't know if this helps, hope you figure something out!

[ark]

Thanks.  That does make sense.  He has a snack at daycare around 2:30 or 3:00.  I usually have him home sometime between 3:30 and 5:30.  Each day is a little different.  I think he get a variety of different thing at daycare for a snack (crackers, cereal, fruit)  The veggie plate is a good idea.  He was actually better last night.  I let him stand on a chair and "help" me with dinner.  Maybe when I get home I'm just in such a rush to get dinner on at a time when he needs my attention???  We'll keep working at it.