UrbanMoms

Where Canadian moms connect! Blogs, reviews, parenting tips, travel and entertainment news, contests and more.

You are here: Home / Uncategorized / Feeding Frenzy

Feeding Frenzy

by

I decided this summer that we would only do a few weeks of camp, spread out.  

Three weeks of full day camp, two weeks of only 3 half days. The rest of the summer we’re home. Just enough to give me a break but still giving them a lot of down time to do whatever they want, sleep in, stay up late…

I found that the first week we were home my frustration levels would rise when I heard the words “I’m bored” or “I’m hungry”

The “I’m bored” was soon taken care of when I threatened to send them to camp for the rest of the summer.  Every. Single. Day. We’d be back to the school routine. Camp starts earlier (9am) than their school does (9:15am). No staying up late, no sleeping in. I haven’t heard much about their boredom since I left the Parks & Rec book out, flipped open to the camp pages.

The “I’m hungry” has also been taken care of. I was sick and tired of asking them what they wanted and their response would be  “I dunno.”  I took the open ended choice away from them and gave them limited choices with their snacks.  

While I was excited to put most of the lunch containers away for the summer, it was short lived. I pulled them all out and have made available food to the children all day long. Each night I cut up fruit, veggies, stock pudding, apple sauce and yogurt – all snack sizes and put them in the fridge, on a shelf accessible to all of them for the next day. They can open the fridge, help them self to a healthy snack and leave me alone. 
snax.JPGI was a little annoyed at first that I was once again doing what I do ten months out of the year.  I was looking forward to not filling snack containers every night as I do each night before school.  But the 10 minutes it takes cut up produce and pack it is well worth the elimination of the constant whining about how hungry they are during the day.  They can decide what they want, when they want and help themselves.  I know they’re getting healthy food into their bodies and they are getting an added bit of independence.

Plus now I won’t have to gripe about getting back into the school lunch routine come September…since I won’t be getting out of it.

Comments

  2. Christine says

    Oh I know Grumble…I know…
    Although I am happy to report that 2 out of 3 lunchbags are coming home empty.
    And I think it’s just good lighting that makes the fridge look gorgeous and whatnot. There are a couple of spills and crumbs in there!

  3. Christine says

    I laughed out loud when I read this…after the morning I had, I felt anything but organized! haha!

  4. Christine says

    I’m faking my intelligence – it was a matter of sanely making it through the day 😉

  5. Tracey says

    You’re so good, lady… as you know, my kids are killing me with the food-stuff this summer, Lord help me…
    And PS, your fridge looks all gorgeous and whatnot – yay!!