“Mommy, I’m hungry.”   This seems to be my 4-year-old’s catch phrase the past few days!  I mean we literally finished breakfast 30 minutes ago and I’m still cleaning up…how on earth is he hungry!  I’m sure I can’t be the only parent who is curious how our snacks are going to last the next few weeks!  In our normal routine, we get up, eat, leave the house for school (or on the weekend to do something fun), have lunch, more school or some other activity, maybe a snack if we remember, continue with said activity and then dinner.    In our new normal, we seem to have a lot more time and a lot less structure; which to a kid translates to a lot more time for snacks!

After the first day of giving him a snack every time he stated he was hungry I realized two things:   First, he is never going to eat his meals (you know the actual healthy stuff I have to cook). Second, this is what I tell parents everyday will increase the risk for cavities.

So, I decided to practice what I preach!!

1. Stick to 3 meals a day and 2 snacks in between
2. Choose snacks that are higher in protein, fruits, vegetables or dairy, limiting carbohydrates and sticky, chewy things.
3. Eat at the table, once they get up, they are done…this will cut down on grazing.
4. Remember they are kids, and this is a stressful time for them too, so a treat every once in a while, is OK

Frequent eating or drinking can lead to cavities.   That means that the bacteria that cause tooth decay have more opportunity to produce acid that attacks the enamel of your teeth.  So the less frequently your children eat or drink the less likely they’ll be to get cavities.