My 3 year old son like most kids, loves to snack. CONSTANTLY. Ok I know we all love to snack but really it can get a little out of control. It often interfered with meals because he was never hungry when he needed to be. Or if he didn’t like what was for dinner he just assumed he would get a snack before bed so he would take a bite or two and tell me “Im full”. I tried to limit him to a few healthy snacks a day but I found him climbing counters and digging through the pantry to help himself.

/aOne night while watching an episode of the “SuperNanny” she demonstrated a technique called the “snack box.” I knew it was the perfect solution, so the next day I thought i’d try it out. When I picked him up from school I told him I had a special project for the two of us. I got out all the crafty stuff I could find laying around the house including an old pair of shoelaces. I dug through the closet and found a small box we weren’t using and we got to work. We covered the box in paper and then I let him decorate it with stickers.

I explained to him what the box was for and we went into the kitchen together to pick out some snacks. I picked out 3 or 4 healthy snacks and then let him choose one, which is almost always a favorite of his, fruit snacks. I explained that we have to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but in between it’s alright to have snacks but they have to be in your snack box. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. (For the day that is.)

Needless to say he loved the idea and was quick to grab his first snack. We have been using this technique for about a month now and it has worked great. I found it helps not only to limit the amount of snacks he has throughout the day but also to give him a little independence by having his very own snack box to grab from.