Are your kids always hungry? Mine are seriously eating me out of house and home. Tonight, as dinner was bubbling on the stovetop, my seven-year-old wandered into the kitchen, got himself a plate, and proceeded to load it up with a fruit bar, apple, pretzels, salami, and crackers. He sat down at the table and started to eat, while I gaped at him.
“Dinner is going to be ready in about 15 minutes,” I said, eyebrows raised.
“I know. This is my pre-dinner,” he replied.
Pre-dinner? Am I raising a Hobbit? It would seem so, because the amount of food he consumes is definitely enough to sustain a quest to take the One Ring to Mordor.
For lunch on schooldays, he packs a full lunch box and a separate morning tea box with just about the same amount of food as he eats for lunch. The second he’s picked up from school, he’s asking for afternoon tea, to the point where I usually have one snack ready for him to eat in the car and another to eat when he arrives home. And all day long, I hear, “I’m hungry!”
I grew up with two younger brothers, so I’m not naive to the appetites of growing boys. The only restaurants we ever went to had all-you-can-eat buffets, for good reason. My brothers could mow down a smorgasbord like nothing you’ve ever seen before. I’m quite in awe of them both, actually. They’re both tall, strong, excellently epicurean adults now. I’m hoping all those qualities rub off on Master Seven at some point.
Because he’s going to have to get a job soon, as my cupboards are bare and it’s only Wednesday.
Katherine Granich
Editor, Tots to Teens
