The Power of Food & Using Discernment

Ellenor was being a bit of a handful last night as I was trying to get her ready for bed. I remembered that she had a fairly early dinner & didn’t eat very much so I figured she was hungry. I sat her down with a snack & immediately she calmed down. She was back to her sweet, cuddly self right away.

Ellenor has a HUGE vocabulary for her age & talks a lot. But, she is still only 22 months! She couldn’t at that moment express that she was hungry…she just was acting out.

I was also remembering a time many years ago when a normally very mellow, sweet child had an uncharacteristic meltdown after church one day. Thankfully, God again had given me the discernment to recognize that he was hungry. We normally stayed for snacks right after church & he was looking forward to that & but for some reason this day we had to leave right away. We hadn’t prepared him for that & he didn’t handle it well.

We, as parents, need to use discernment in situations like this to realize that it’s not necessarily kids being naughty, but rather hunger making them act out.

I’m not trying to make excuses for bad behavior, but just encouraging us as parents to use discernment. Do we need to pack snacks? Give a bedtime snack before bed? What can we be doing to help prevent “hangry” meltdowns.

Even for myself, I am aware that I get “hangry” (yes, this is a word!). The hour before dinner time has always been the worst for me. Which is why I LOVE crockpot meals or meals I can prep early. It makes a huge difference for me. I have to be aware & work harder to be patient & kind. I don’t always succeed; I am not perfect & will be the first to admit it. I’m speaking as a reminder to myself as much as anything. Sometimes I need to have a snack before making dinner. Or sneak off to have a few minutes to spend in Gods Word or in prayer.