Bedtime Snacks & Kids: Are You Making This Common Mistake? by Kristen Yarker, MSc, RD

Are you inconsistent with offering your child a bedtime snack? Offering bedtime snacks only when your picky eater doesn’t eat well at dinner backfires. Why? You’re rewarding kids for not eating dinner. Kids are smart. They'll quickly figure out that if they don’t eat those challenging veggies at dinner, they can fill up at bedtime snack with their favorite foods. 

Instead of falling for your clever child’s tactics, choose to have a consistent family rule: either always have a bedtime snack or never have a bedtime snack. If you choose to always have a bedtime snack, be sure to include both a familiar food and challenging food. That way your child won’t avoid dinner and hold out until snack time to eat.