Food Management

We have been dealing with the kids eating everything we buy in 1-2 days.  Why?  Because they want to make sure they get some before it is all gone.  I am from a big family I totally understand their fears.  The food was always gone and you never got a bite of the crumb cake.  Of course we don't have crumb cake in our house, but I did as a child.  So, Savage_Dave and I have been trying to figure out how to deal with this while maintaing healthy food and snacks.  We can't afford for them to eat a weeks worth of snacks in two days.

Right now our idea is to let each child pick the snack they want us to buy on shopping day and then divide it amongst them.  They will each get their own box to store the food in and put it in a specific cabinet.  They can then have access to good food, they'll know that they will get a 'fair' amount of the food and when it is gone, it is gone until the next shopping trip.  Maybe it will help them learn to moderate their eating.  We will keep fruit out of the boxes and we always have cheese sticks on hand, so once they run out of the 'good' stuff they will still have options, just not as many.  I fear we may need to give them all locks for their boxes though, or else they will steal from each other.  I sort of feel bad for the rationing, but seriously they eat too much!

I really wish we had a fridge like the one we had when I was a child.  It had a little 'window' on the door to put milk or something.  If we had that I would even lock the fridge and put the things they can eat freely in there where they could get to it without opening the fridge.  It is really frustrating to go in the fridge to get something you planned to make for dinner and it is GONE.  Hmm, maybe a college dorm fridge on the counter would work?

Yes, I realize some people might think it is drastic, but both of the boys are overeating a lot.  So we need to do something.