The kids have been home from school for a couple weeks now, and summer is in full swing! Popsicles, early morning walks, park playdates and all the fun summer things! But with a different schedule, comes a whole slew of problems.

The biggest culprit is the constant snacking, am I right? Even if they’ve just eaten, I feel like my kids are always wanting to eat! Sometimes they may be truly hungry, as you definitely burn through a lot of calories when you’re running around and playing hard all day! But sometimes, I think they ask for food simply because they’re bored- which is not a bad thing, but can definitely get obnoxious when you’re being bombarded with snack requests all day. Here are some things you can try to help control the desire for constant snacking in your house.

Set kitchen hours. Instead of having the kitchen open all day, have kitchen hours in which it’s “opened” and “closed”. For example, breakfast can be eaten between 8 and 10, lunch between 12 and 2, and dinner (if you’re not able to eat it all together as a family) is between 4 and 6. You can decide if you have snack times in there, but the point is that you’ll be able to control the mess a lot easier if there are set times, rather than constantly cleaning up after someone! This is a great tactic to try with older kids- younger kids will need help preparing meals, so you can control when they eat a little easier ;)

Have a snack basket. This may not work for every family, but I’ve seen several families that set out a snack basket, full of things like apples, fruit snacks, granola bars, individual servings of crackers or trail mix, bananas, etc. Allow your kids to help themselves, but when it’s gone, it’s gone! This can be a great way to teach them to pace themselves, or to only grab things when they’re truly hungry. If you have a really large family and/or are concerned about everyone having access to snacks, you could have individual snack baskets for each child, or limit it to a certain number of snacks (e.g. everyone can choose up to 3 snacks each day).

Set out a veggie tray. If I offer baby carrots as a snack to my children, I am always turned down. However, if I have a bag of baby carrots set out on the counter, that 1 pound bag will be gone within one afternoon! You could just set out a bag of carrots, but if you’re willing to cut up a few veggies, a great way to curb snacking and encourage healthy eating is to set out a veggie tray each afternoon. Cucumber slices, baby carrots, sliced bell pepper, sugar snap peas, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, olives, baby pickles etc. makes a beautiful platter, and if your kids have free access, chances are they’re going to eat it!

Stay busy! My kids definitely ask for more snacks when they’re just sitting around all day. It’s a delicate balance, because I do believe it’s healthy for kids to experience boredom every once in a while. But to help keep the grocery bill down and to keep your sanity, make sure you do have some fun activities planned as well to break things up! Your kids probably won’t be asking for constant snacks if they’re picking out books from the library, splashing at the local pool, exploring at a museum or admiring animals at the zoo or aquarium. Make it a goal to get out of the house at least 1 to 2 times a week!

Plan out your snacks. I know sometimes it just feels like one more thing to plan, but I promise if you take some time to think through the snacks for the week, you’ll save yourself so much headache later, and your kids will be eating healthier snacks! If I don’t plan ahead, it feels so much more mentally draining when my kids ask what they can have for a snack, and then I usually just give them something easy, like potato chips or other junk food that’s easy to grab. A little planning saves my sanity, and makes sure my kids are getting some healthier options (though the occasional fun snack is definitely fun to do!)

What do you do to handle the snacking situation in your home? Share your ideas in the comments below!