With everything going on (after school activities, school, play dates, family gatherings, daily life lol) for many families, the cycle of busy-ness can make it feel very difficult, and at times overwhelming, to make sure routine meals and planned snacks are integrated into the day consistently. 

Go with the flow… 

With the variability of naps, early (or late) wakings, pick up, drops offs, games and activities it is near impossible to stick to a strict time for all meals and snacks. So that's why I like to refer more to the flow of the day when it comes to feeding families.

What does that mean?  

When I am referring to the flow of the day: Serve the first meal of the day within 45 minutes of waking, and then the next snack 2 to 3  hours after that, and the next meal 2 to 3 hours after that, and so on. Most evening meals tend to occur about the same time per day, but then again activities/sports can change it- so thinking of the 2 to 3 hour gap after snack makes it easy to anticipate the next meal. 

Aim for 3 meals and 2 - 3 snacks per day. 

In the end of the day, this means that despite early wake ups, naps, activities, etc... all meals and snacks are still routinely offered. 

Why is this important? 

Evidence shows that children can best eat the right amount for them, when they can anticipate when the next meal or snack will be served. This allows them to better follow their own cues. Also, kids love routine!

Furthermore, as a reminder - the "when" of feeding is a parent / caregiver role when looking at the Division of Responsibility of Feeding (there's a whole blog post about it- check it out here).

Anticipating and planning for the next meal or snack - helps reduce pressure to figure it out in the moment, or when everyone is overly hungry (remember the term "hangry"). 

~Brigitte