Those of you with kids!

[critter crazy]

I am getting very mad lately, and it all revolves around litterally throwing money in the garbage!

My kids have the nasty habit of throwing half eaten food in the trash, as well as half drank juices, and sometimes opening something, not eating it and throwing it away anyways! I am sick of it! i am half tempted to just lock up the fridge, and all the cupboards and throwing away the key!

I cannot stand to see food wasted, we arent exactly rich, so it realy irks me!

How the heck can i get through these kids heads, that they just cannot do this!

I know how my dad taught me, but lets just say, I aint gonna do that!
I am just beyond frustrated right now, and needed to vent!

[CathyBogart]

I dan't have kids, but I can tell you my dad would have simply charged us for all the uneaten food.

[critter crazy]

he he he! that would be a great plan, but my two are 7 and 11, kind of hard to get blood from a stone!

[Catty1]

I think locks are a great idea.

Or putting the stuff that is wasted most often out of reach so they have to ask for it.

Do you buy the juice packs? Try switcing to frozne concentrate and water in a pitcher, or buying a family-size container.

Works out cheaper, in my area anyway.

I am not sure what food they open, and don't eat - is it a pre-packaged sandwich or something?

Try buying the basic ingredients so they have to make it themselves. If they yell about the old stuff, tell them it ran out and there isn't any more.

The only last thing I can think of is having a family sit down meal, which is hard for families on the run, I know.

[critter crazy]

I think locks are a great idea.

Or putting the stuff that is wasted most often out of reach so they have to ask for it.

Do you buy the juice packs? Try switcing to frozne concentrate and water in a pitcher, or buying a family-size container.

Works out cheaper, in my area anyway.

I am not sure what food they open, and don't eat - is it a pre-packaged sandwich or something?

Try buying the basic ingredients so they have to make it themselves. If they yell about the old stuff, tell them it ran out and there isn't any more.

The only last thing I can think of is having a family sit down meal, which is hard for families on the run, I know.

The food they waste most, is snack food, which i should probably just quit buying!
Mostly chips, snack cakes crackers stuff like that. I only buy the juice packs once in a great while, and everytime i do, i am reminded why i stopped buying them in the first place! I have tried the putting stuff up higher trick, and of course caught my son surfing the counters! and of course they only do this when mommy isnt looking! I try to keep good snacks in teh house too, veggies(which they love) popcorn and stuff like that, but still they just waste it! I guess what tehy raly need to learn is to only take what you can eat!

[Pembroke_Corgi]

You could try making it a rule they can only take what will fit in the palm of their hand (I read somewhere this is about a serving size, anyway). If they are still hungry, they can always go back and get another helping.

Or you could get some good tupperware and teach them how to use it...if they took more than they could eat they could save it and eat it later.

Everyone's ideas sound good written down- the hard part is getting your kids to follow it!

[DrKym]

Around here if you dont finish it you are served it again later, if it is wasted it is deducted from extra chore money.
Understand we don't do allowances for chores, chores are a natural result of living we all have them.
However spending money is earned by doing things we would pay for i.e. cleaning and vacuuming the car. Shoveling the walkways. Washing the windows on the outside. Things that fall into the I would rather not do them and will pay you to if you want the money.

Wasted food, lost Yu-gi -ohs, breaking another siblings toy etc is deducted from the wages and the final result of wages is what is paid at the end of the week.

works for us, maybe you can tweak it a bit to make it more suitable for your family.

[critter crazy]

I would imagine all of this is my fault to begin with. Growing up, both hubby and I came from families, where you were lucky to get a good meal, and if you didnt eat it you starved. So I always said I would always have food in the house, and always let my kids eat whenever they were hungry! But it is biting me in the butt now!!

[angelbow20]

I know what you mean when you talk about your kids wasting food, My 3 year old son waste everything, he barely eats but always wants more snacks and new foods and will throw a huge fit and cry and make me feel bad so i will give him something he wants and if i dont, I know my parents or friends will, since he hardly ever eats for me I always try to give him whatever food he wants but almost everything is wasted and I myself dont have much money so it sucks.

[Argranade]

I try not to waste food but even when I do I'm glad my parents realy don't care, but I honestly hate wasting food, I usualy only eat one meal a day so now I don't waste food lol.

For some reason alot of people always say this and it bothers me so much,

So one person eats half a plate of food then another person will say to them ''You should eat all of it, think of all the poor people''.

I mean how does eating all your food help them, does not make sence.

[Glacier]

Around here if you dont finish it you are served it again later,

That's what my parents did. We could eat as much as we wanted, but if we took too much of anything, that's what we got next time we said "i'm hungry".

[Marigold2]

I have the same problem with my daughter and she is 20. She fills a glass full of juice and then takes it in her room and there it sits 3/4 full. Same with her food. I have tried for years to get her to change. No luck. What I finally do now is not buy any snacks. If she wants some cookies or candies she has to buy them herself. Sorry I am not more helpful. I do feel for you.

[Vela]

Well my kids are now 14, 13, and 11, and from the time they were old enough to ask for anything, they were taught they are not welcome to take whatever they want, they must ask for it. If their chores aren't done they don't get it (not meals of course, but snacks, etc). If they don't finish it, the next time they ask they get told no. If they didn't clean up their mess from it, they get told no. It makes them responsible for whether or not they get snacks. If they eat something sugary for a snack they next day or later that same day they have to eat something better for them. I let them choose from several things on hand, but snacks are not a free for all and sometimes they need to be things like peanut butter and apples or baby carrots, etc. If they get caught stealing the food, yes I consider it stealing, I bought it, they lose snack priveledges for a little while. My kids never go hungry, we aren't on a budget with food to where they will run out of things to eat, but they are responsible for what they take and the mess associated with it. I am more lax on it now that they are older than i used to be, but they still ask, since it's just how it's always been done.

[borzoimom]

My mother never bought " single serving" type containers for this very reason. With 4 kids, she said it would bankrupt them and cheaper to get the big containers. Never had juice boxes for anything but to take to school. That was it.. The other stuff- same thing.. so instead of being taken for granted as a given, these items became " gold..".. She also never bought paper towels- thats another that gets like 5 pulled off when one will do.. etc.. Then there were " by mom's say so only items".. those were things like the mini pizzas etc..
I only had one child- and did the same with juice boxes etc.. They are so much higher in price that I only bought the large containers for household use. Add a ice cube instead of " getting a fresh one" etc.. lol..

[Twisterdog]

My kids do the same thing. I just don't buy that item again for a while. I will bring the half-eaten Lunchable or the can of Pepsi with three sips taken out of it out of their rooms, show it to them, and say "No more Pepsi for a month." I even keep a list, that clearly shows food that we no longer buy.

I am, officially, "the meanest mom in the world", BTW ... but it works. Well, it works to some degree. They relapse again, and again. But it's better than nothing.