The first Thursday of every month I will post something deep – or more often than not, not so deep – to think about.

Snacks, I hate them.

End of post. Why do I need to say more? Snacks are awful. I wish they were never born.

This post has gone dark, sorry about that. I try to stay positive about life, but snacks bring me down to a bad place quickly.

I try over and over to explain to my kids the true intention of snacks. I commonly say to them, the purpose of a snack (not snacks plural, snack singular) is to put a little something in your stomach to get you through to the next meal.

Back in my younger days, we had a snack mid-afternoon and that’s it. (Mom, can you verify this? Or if I’m wrong and we snacked all day, don’t verify it.)

I feel like my kids constantly want to eat. After school they have a snack, even though two of my three take snacks to eat at school. Inevitably, they have their after school snack and then go to my poor defenseless pantry at least 2-3 more times trying to get more.

WHY?? What is the fascination with snacks?

People, the struggle is real. I’ve had to hide snacks so they are not stolen and devoured in a day. I wish I was kidding. My kids now know to look in my bedroom closet for hidden snacks.

Ugh, snacks. And what’s with the bedtime snack nonsense? I get an occasional fun bedtime snack. Growing up we would sometimes have ice cream or popcorn before bed on a special occasion.

But any medical professional that knows anything about nutrition will tell you that eating before bed is BAD! Supper should be the last food you consume. Ever hear of breakfast…meaning, breaking the fast (fast=abstaining from all food or drink)?? The fast is between supper and breakfast. I just don’t understand why kids beg to eat before bed.

Oh wait, I DO know. Because they don’t eat a good supper. Ding, ding, ding!! We have a winner!

In my world, you eat three meals a day and a snack between lunch and supper. But my world isn’t perfect. And I don’t have a lock on my pantry and I don’t stand guard over it 24/7. So my kids eat. Constantly. And then aren’t hungry for meals.

And the viscous snack cycle continues.

Don’t get me started on the word “starving”. My kids know better than to ever use that word around me. It turns me into a monster. I throw out the starving-kids-in-third-world-countries bit regularly.

Starving, yeah right. You can’t be starving if you’ve eaten within the last two hours.

Did you know the actual definition of starving is suffering or dying from hunger?

Nope kids, just nope.

Hold me.

I can’t even with snacks.

Did I mention that yesterday was the last day of school for my kids?

Brace for impact Kleckner pantry!! The kids are coming to get ya!!!!

Snacks.

Oh, snacks.

You will be the end of me.

Have an apple kids.

Please give me advice on snacks. How do you handle them at your house?

Until Next Time,

Neko