What do u give your child for tea/ after school?

[emodi]

I am from nigeria originally and our food is quite carb heavy. I would be greatful for some ideas for after school tea/snack. I usually give my son pasta/ rice around 4 but then dinner is at 7 and I find he gets pretty podgy during term time. I need some easy simple ideas for a healthy snack for tea or he probably will end up eating 4 square meals.
Thanks in advance

[MrsPnut]

I usually offer some cheese and crackers or fruit. Sometimes both if she's really hungry.

You could also try a small bowl of soup or some toast as well.

[heidihole]

Carrot/pepper/cucumber sticks with dips
Grapes and cheese cubes
A banana
Fruit smoothie made in the blender
Yoghurt
Slice of toast with jam
Biscuits (may not help the tubby issue!!)

[emodi]

Thanks for all the ideas

[sittinginthesun]

Cheese and crackers, lots of fruit.

Today they had a cake as it was first day back.

[forevergreek]

Just some fruit and cheese usually

[VerySmallSqueak]

Could dinner be a little earlier,and the snack lighter?

Sugar snap peas,rice cakes,fruit....

If not perhaps a more substantial offering when he first gets home (eg omelette) and a snack later (eg milk and crackers)

If he has cooked school dinners he only really needs a quite light meal (and snack if needed) in the evening,I think.

[FranSanDisco]

Ds normally helps himself to a banana or other fruit and a glass of fruit juice or milk.
DD usually makes a chocolate spread wrap with banana as she cycles to/fm school so is always 'starving'.

[thegreylady]

I cooked pasta/bolognese for dgc tea today.They had it at 5 and will have cheese/crackers or cereal and milk later.

[jamtoast12]

I tend to pick dds up with a small treat like a penguin or something. Ours have a hot lunch in school but are just as hungry as if having packed lunch as lunch is eaten at 11:40!! How many of us really go from 12 til 4 with nothing, I know I don't!

so I don't think fruit is substantial enough for mine to last til tea time. Plus they eat fruit after breakfast, mid morning and after lunch so I think they're fairly fed up of it by late afternoon!

I think its nice to get a treat after a busy day :). They have tea around 4;45 and then at 7pm may have breadsticks, cereal, fruit or plain biscuits etc.

Mine are always hungry!

[jamtoast12]

Actually I don't think the problem is what to give him after school, I think the eating times need swapping round? 7pm is very late I think for a child to eat evening meal. Maybe do his dinner at 4:30 then give him a snack at 7 when your eating main meal? We do this as me and dh don't eat til 7:30? If he has lunch at 12pm, he'll likely be starving by 7pm

[mrspaddy]

I don't think you need to prepare the seven pm meal either, maybe some homemade vegetable soup or light snack like ham, fruit, crackers or yoghurt.

We always grew up with our main meal after school and something light for supper

[Oblomov]

We have a snack , as soon as they get home, so say 3.30 cheese and crackers for e.g.
Then dinner, at 6pm. Proper meal for dh and I aswell - spaghetti Bol, shepherds pie and 2 steamed veg, etc.

[OldBeanbagz]

My DC (11&8) have a snack of fruit/veg/baked item when they get home from school and then we dinner as a family at 7pm. No need for snack before bed in our case.

[Retroformica]

An apple and a couple of rice cakes

[littlemiss06]

Mine usually have something like a banana, yoghurt or dairylea dunker then we have tea at 6

[Periwinkle007]

we do a couple of biscuits and some water at 3:30 then dinner is around 6.

they have good healthy breakfasts, fruit for morning snack at school, healthy lunches so I think a couple of biscuits is fine for a bit of a sugar rush after school then they have their cooked meal with us or just me if hubby working late and then off to bed at 7:30.

I would agree about making dinner earlier myself but obviously that depends on if 7:30 is the only possible time you can sit together as a family because I think that is important. I think the suggestion of his dinner being earlier and then him having some soup or something light when you eat is a good way round that. even if it is just rice pudding or soup.

[noramum]

We eat all together dinner at 6.30- 7pm and treasure out family dinner time. Therefore DD gets a snack after school which is a large cookie or piece of homemade cake, fruit, a yoghurt and/ or some cereals.

We also experiment with homemade savoury snacks like cheese straws or cheese biscuits, savoury muffins etc

I personally don't think a late dinner cause any harm, we do this since she is 11 months and started nursery. I come from Germany and can't understand the whole idea of feeding the children early and later the adults. I don't have energy to start cooking when DD is in bed and I am starved when coming home from the office at 6pm.

[fuzzle]

toasted fruit tea cake. fruit scone. savory scone. bread and butter/ toast and butter. yoghurt with a bit of muesli on top.

[Cat98]

We also eat together at 6:30 most nights, so ds has a snack after school (usually either toast plus a piece of fruit, or a bowl of porridge, or cheese and crackers, or sometimes a piece of cake or similar). Then a proper cooked meal later (he has packed lunches at school).

[Swimmingwithsharks]

After school it is a small snack. A yoghurt or a glass of chocolate soya milk, an apple and maybe a biscuit, toasted crumpet and jam, whole grain toast and peanut butter. (Sometimes depending on his lunch, he doesn't even need a snack).This is plenty to keep him going until dinner time that is between 5.30 - 6. In the weekends dinner can be as late as 7pm and he lasts quite readily until then. It sounds like your son is getting two dinners a night! Pasta and rice are quite substantial.