I feed my youngsters dinner at 3.30pm
A mother-of-four has revealed that she feeds her kids dinner at 3:30pm.
Content creator Aims LC, has shared with her more than 688,900 TikTok followers, that she begins dinner prep at 3pm in her household.
She explained in the video that her three youngest children, ‘always wake up from their naps ravenous- so why not feed them the most amount of nutrients now, and then snack later.’
As for her fourth child, who was arriving from school, Aims added: ‘She also gets home starving, so it’s the best time to feed her the most amount of nutrients as well.’
After she concluded feeding her children in the video, she proceeded to have dinner with her husband at 4pm and she shared: ‘And then it frees up the rest of the night. [They can] play games. I can do a workout. There’s no pressure. Then later we do a bedtime toast.’
A mother-of-four has revealed that she feeds her kids dinner at 3:30pm (stock image)
Other parents decided to give the suggested routine a try and also found successful results.
One mother, who goes by ‘The Runaway Bride Experiment’ on TikTok, candidly shared her experience with the earlier dinner.
She said: ‘When I first saw that video, I was like, “That’s so early – why would you do that?”
‘So I tried it, and oh my gosh, let me just tell you – it’s amazing!’
‘My husband gets home from work around the same time my kids get home from school, so we have family dinner together, and everyone eats actual dinner when they’re starving, and then if they need a little like pick-me-up later, then they can have leftovers or fruit or whatever.’
She concluded her experiment by saying: ‘But, oh my gosh – life changing advice, 10/10 would recommend.’
Mother-of-two, Paige Boyuk, also relished in the positive outcomes of the routine, however, she found a happy personal medium – a 4:30pm dinner time.
Paige shared with TODAY: ‘I was tired of giving snacks to my kids who then didn’t eat dinner.
Content creator Aims LC, has shared with her more than 688,900 TikTok followers, that she begins dinner prep at 3pm in her household (stock image)
‘One day, I said, “That’s it.” We’re eating the spaghetti at 4:30 pm, and we had the best evening – there were no meltdowns and their bellies were full.’
The mother shared that her usual food picks include chicken and rice, pork loins or pasta.
As for snacks, Paige goes with sliced apples and cheese.
Mother-of four, Mercedes Barnes serves dinner at 3:45pm, and shared with TODAY: ‘The (older) girls would come off the school bus starving, and grab snacks from the pantry, but later, wouldn’t consume their dinner.
‘I started serving dinner at 3pm and they gobbled it down.’
She added that her children no longer run around ‘like crazy,’ or have a blood sugar crash like they previously would after school.
Mercedes added: ‘I see a substantial difference in their behavior. They argue less and fall asleep easier. It’s life-changing.’
Her go-to for snacks are fruits, vegetables or a granola bar for post-dinner.
She also explained that she’ll reheat the dinner leftovers if her children are still hungry later on.
When it comes to the health benefits of an early dinner, Sarah Williams, who is a registered dietician in Texas, revealed that the small change makes a big difference.
She explained in the video that her children, ‘always wake up from their naps ravenous – so why not feed them the most amount of nutrients now, and then snack later (stock image)
Although most parents were fond of the idea, some weren’t on board. One person wrote: ‘I can’t imagine bathing before feeding. Mine is so messy’
Sarah explained: ‘I love the idea of parents leaning into feeding their kids when they’re hungry, rather than the idea that dinner has to be at a specific time.
‘In general, food schedules should run concurrent with our daily lives, (especially) if kids are in sports practice during dinner hours.’
She added that eating food earlier leads to it being digested more efficiently, which helps children get quality sleep.
The dietician recommended consuming healthy fats like peanut butter and fruit as pre-bedtime snacks.
Although most parents were fond of the idea, some weren’t on board.
One person wrote: ‘I can’t imagine bathing before feeding. Mine is so messy.’
A second person commented: ‘This works great until sports, dance and school events start happening.’
A third person added: ‘Hard if you work full-time and finish at 5pm, but great idea.
Another person wrote: ‘Love this idea except. I work and don’t get home until five and [am] usually running to a sport.’
