Spanish Eating Habits

Growing up, I had three meals with a afternoon snack called merienda.  As a young adult I traveled to Spain and found out that they eat many more meals but with smaller portions and over a larger period of time.  They eat dinner anytime between 8pm and midnight!

I've tried to give the kids the eating schedule I grew up with, but it is time to throw in the towel.  Not only do they like to graze through the entire day and evening like the Spaniards, but they do it at staggered times from each other!

Max likes to eat his breakfast later - ideally at around 9.  Simone likes to eat as soon as she wakes up.  Their hunger for lunch seems to be about 3 to 4 hours later.  Simone usually doesn't like to snack as much in the afternoon, but Max would do it all 5 hours if he could.  Dinner is whenever they're hungry and that can range from 4pm to 5:30pm.  There are several dilemmas at nighttime:  

1. One is more hungry than the other
2. They feel hungry, but will only pick at their food.
3. After dinner, they play, get ready for bed, and read books ... and feel hungry again!

There have been many times at night that when I've started my nighttime goofing off, the kids will emerge from bed and tell me they are hungry.  At first, I was enraged that they didn't eat during dinner time.  Michael then told me that he used to eat the same way.  He barely ate when his parents had dinner, would go to sleep, and then later in the evening eat ravenously!  Knowing this, I haven't freaked out if they don't eat as much at dinner time.  When they do wake up hungry, I tell them they have to eat something nutritious.  They are so starved it seems that they happily scarf down fruit that hours earlier would have seemed vomitous.  Knowing that my kids' appetites resemble Michael's has tempered my frustration in feeding them.