School holidays with a no routine, routine kind of mentality…

Food, glorious food.

After 6 days at home, I have to confess that if you tell me you are hungry, I might respond in a seemingly stark over reaction but frankly this uttered phrased has driven me to the edge.

It is spoken at least every hour.

On the hour.

No matter where I am. The toilet, shower, kitchen, working, hanging the washing, driving – nowhere is sacred for this phrase, this demand, this constant need.

“ Mum I just have something I want to tell you.” “I’m hungry”.

It has been a long beginning to the school holidays. The frantic panic to write THE LIST (my chores for the holidays that has become ritualistic and I can’t settle until it is done) to settling into a routine that doesn’t disrupt my PTSD husband’s much needed routine, but also doesn’t see me take on too much or I might as well not be on break.

The first couple of days felt like a dance, not wanting to go too hard too fast for fear that my child will think every day off is a crazy adventure filled day. I had to balance these days at home with a husband who was used to several hours of solitude and felt irrational like we were trespassing on his territory.

And that bloody phrase.

I think my son almost gets into an eating routine, he has this weird idea that he has to have one of everything in the cupboard. One of all the snacks. He is a bottomless pit and I often fear he is eating out of boredom, which I think is a terrible habit to get into especially as we have obesity and heart problems in my family. I know I boredom and stress eat and I’m trying really hard not to pass on these habits.  

So what to do? Saying a constant NO only gets me nagged and giving in is worse as he will keep going until he has eaten everything on his mental list.

So if this is your life at the moment, maybe some of these ideas will help – they have been working for me so far – fingers crossed.

1) Pack a lunch box. After breakfast I put a variety of snacks in a lunch box and tell him that’s it until lunchtime. Sometimes it’s all gone in 5 mins but he knows not to ask again.

2) Set times – we did this a lot last school holidays. Write up a list of snack and meal times. If they can read the clock they are only allowed to ask you for food at the specific times. This works well with young school children as they are already used to a eating schedule.

3) Easy prepare – I spend time at the beginning of the week with my son cutting up and preparing all the fruit and unwrapping all the snacks he can consume and putting them into containers. I then put a number on the jar (e.g rice cakes = 2) and then tell my son he can have whatever he likes in those quantities. This lets him know he has freedom of choice and time and I know what he is consuming. If you have treats – for us is a packet of tiny teddys – then put one treat out and leave it up to them to choose when they have that.

Of course all of this only works if your child listens to you, obeys you and thinks for themselves. We have a 50 % success rate! But it gives me something to say back to him when he tells me yet again he is hungry and I feel more in control of the situation.

P.S I helped my husband through his issues by kicking him to the gym. Not a perfect solution but he feels more stable after a workout.