Is Food Noise Affecting Your Kid?

If your child is always asking for snacks, fixating on a specific food or thinking about treats even when they’ve just eaten, it may be more than just hunger. Dietitians call that persistent mental chatter about food “food noise,” and while the term is often linked to adults and weight-loss drugs, kids can experience it too.

For some children, especially those with ADHD or other neurodivergent traits, food noise can be tied to boredom, dopamine-seeking, emotional regulation or a food environment full of triggers, says Megan Wallace, a registered dietitian at Pine Integrated Health Centre in Edmonton. Here’s what parents should know, and how to respond without turning food into a power struggle.

What’s the food saying?

Rather than ignoring food noise, listening to it can actually give us some insight, says Wallace. Sometimes we’re hungry, sometimes we need emotional regulation—maybe we’re bored, stressed, anxious, lonely—sometimes it’s a nutritional deficit, like a lack of iron.

Neurodivergent children, kids with ADHD in particular, often have lower dopamine activity, and therefore crave snacks that give them a boost even when they’re not hungry or when they see triggers that remind them of certain favourite foods. And there are constant triggers in our environment. The other day the ice cream truck just pulled right up in front of our house and parked there for a few minutes right before supper time.

“As a parent, you can sometimes tell they’re full, but they’re seeking something else—an immediate reward, or stimulation or novelty,” says Wallace. Having predictable meal and snack times is important, she says, but also having visual schedules that showcase what is available can help.

Rather than asking kids what they would like for a snack, offer two acceptable options. Caregivers can also look at giving kids alternative sources of stimulation, such as offering gum or carbonated water for dopamine-seeking kids and getting outside and enjoying beloved activities in between eating times.

Watching screens during meals is widely frowned upon, because it can interrupt a person’s natural ability to read fullness cues. But for neurodivergent kids, screens sometimes do get them to sit still for longer to eat. Wallace says this can act as a crutch that is not beneficial as a long-term habit; but on really hard days when a kid with ADHD hasn’t eaten at all, a show during snack time can occasionally help.

Balancing good habits

All kids benefit from seeing nutritious, mostly whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and dairy, every day in their homes and fridges. If they’re constantly looking at open cupboards full of cookies and chips, that’s what they’ll crave. And these foods are designed to leave them craving more.

One of the biggest challenges for today’s parents, says Wallace, is creating a food environment that creates the right balance. It’s difficult for people with time and financial resources to always have nutritious options in the house and on the plate. And there are children, including those with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), with especially challenging struggles that are simply fixed by having whole foods in their sightline.

But Wallace says we shouldn’t aim for perfection—in fact, too much restriction also tips the scales into unhealthy territory—we want balance.

“Many people raising kids today were raised in the '80s and '90s by parents with super restrictive feelings about food. And so we have all these good food, bad food rules,” says Wallace.

Paradoxically, never having candy or pastries can make them that much more appealing. This can create problems with food noise where kids are so desperate for forbidden food that they may sneak, hoard, or steal from other kids’ lunch boxes. Or, when they get to eat it, they overdo it.

Boundaries and balance

So, they do need to have some of what Wallace calls “play” or “fun” foods nearly every day as part of a balanced diet. But that also doesn’t mean there are zero boundaries—sometimes parents swing too far the other way into permissive territory where kids are just grabbing the nearest crackers whenever they feel the slightest bit of hunger. Then, when kids sit down to eat a meal, they’re full and do not get the nutrients they need.

Parents should be in charge of what kids eat and when. And a good portion of it should be whole foods, but Wallace says parents should not make a huge deal about talking with kids about what’s healthy and what’s unhealthy because it’s really about balance.

“It doesn’t need to be dessert after every single supper,” says Wallace. “But it means throwing a mini chocolate bar in their lunch, and throwing a fruit snack in with their afternoon snack on the next day. It’s making these foods neutral enough that they’re going to show up almost every day, so kids don’t panic.”

At a birthday party, she says, everyone gets a piece of cake whether or not they eat their meal. No one is punished for not eating. But it’s just one piece; if they want more, caregivers validate that desire but hold the boundary by saying something like: “I hear you. I'd like some more cake too. We're going to have another piece tomorrow,” says Wallace.

Keep it neutral

That idea of not making a huge deal about eating treats, not using food as a reward, and avoiding morally charged labels for food is called food neutrality, says Jessica Ferris, a registered dietitian with the Centred Nutrition Collective in Edmonton, AB.

And there’s a solid psychology behind it. When kids are raised with the thinking that certain foods are “good” or “bad,” they feel shame or guilt for eating certain types of foods. And when kids are told they must eat certain things, or that they have to eat all the healthy food on their plate before a dessert, it can lead to stress and pressure at the table. It can also make the nutritious food seem less desirable compared to the dessert they’re rewarded with at the end. Serving a small portion of a dessert with a meal is one way to break that dynamic.

Using foods as punishment or rewards can also inadvertently encourage kids to eat in response to emotions rather than hunger. And when kids are always distracted or soothed with an ice cream after every scrape, they may eventually see food as a coping mechanism in times of stress.

Instead, neutrality can help children listen to fullness cues and pay attention to how food makes them feel. They’re also more likely to experiment with foods of all kinds—including different fruits and vegetables and proteins—without the pressure of having to try something simply because it’s healthy.

While it’s one thing to manage food within your home, Ferris says, many parents struggle with what happens at school or their kids' friends’ homes during play dates.

“We can’t control all those other factors, but we can support our kids and give them the skill to navigate the world through critical thinking,” says Ferris.

How practice helps

During calm moments while eating at the table, we can discuss our own fullness cues, explaining when we’re getting full. And when a child overeats and feels sick, we can talk about that—without any shame—and why that may have happened, so they can start to recognize the effect of food on their bodies.

As they get older—closer to the 11-year mark—they can have some opportunities to practice more autonomy, with continued support and discussion around fuelling themselves in ways that feel best, says Ferris.

“I have some children within my caseload right now where the parents are making all the decisions for the kids and the kids go off to university or post-secondary and don’t have the skills to manage it,” says Ferris, highlighting the importance of practice before leaving the nest. As kids get older, they can also start to understand more about nutrition—what foods provide different types of nutrients, and how they fit into the broader picture of health.

Throughout all of the stages, it’s important to realize, says Ferris, that cravings and food noise are not just about the food itself. It’s often tied up with emotional regulation. If parents can help kids develop emotional regulation tools—naming their emotions, identifying sources of the emotions, and working on ways of managing them—this can also help prevent dependence on food for comfort and emotional eating.

Anyone who thinks feeding kids in a balanced, healthy way is easy has not tried multiple ways to get a child interested in basic foods. They haven’t heard the dreaded music box jingle emanate from an ice cream truck, punctuated by the cries of children told it’s too late at night for a 10-dollar ice pop. But, Ferris says, parents should give themselves a break when things don’t always go as planned.

“There will always be another chance,” she says. “None of us are perfect, and there’s going to be another meal, another snack for us and our kids to practice those skills.”

Snack attack

Illustration: ChatGPT; collage: TP staff

Tips for creating a balanced snack when all your kid wants to eat are crackers

Wallace says the goal is not to ban the snack your child wants. It’s to round it out with a few other options that help them stay full longer and get more of the nutrients they need.

• Pair the craving with protein, fat or fibre. If your child wants crackers, add a piece of cheese, some apple slices or a small handful of nuts or seeds, if age-appropriate.
• Keep the favourite food on the plate. Putting the crackers beside other foods can make the snack feel balanced without turning it into a fight.
• Offer simple add-ons. A granola bar can be paired with cashews. Crackers can go with fruit. Raisins and a peeled orange can help round things out.
• Use snack-building as a teaching tool. Kids learn by seeing and doing, so consistently pairing “fun” foods with more filling options can help them build those habits over time.
• Think balance, not restriction. The idea is to include some of the food your child is asking for, while also offering choices that can help sustain them until the next meal.