A roll of smarties or cookies after school is not a snack. It is a candy. It does not fill up a child's tummy. It does not make them full.
After school, MANY kids are hungry... totally.
They need something healthier.
Kids spend all day at school, their lunch is early before noon, they come home at the end of the day, hungry. My daughter is the same way.
Make ahead of time, some healthy foods for him to eat after school. Fruit, sandwiches, milk etc.
A kid is not 'fat'... unless the Pediatrician tells you this... and says he has a weight problem.
Kids, when growing or hitting growth-spurts... get HUNGRY. My daughter gets hungry every 2 hours or less. I feed her. She eats snacks and her regular meals. She is not fat. She is a tall lanky growing kid. Our Pediatrician says its fine.
Keep only healthy things in your home.
Teach him that treats are treats. NOT 'meals.' He can have treats. By your judgment.
Kids... need to learn their hunger 'cues' and not to eat according to emotion.
Do not, put your eating impulses onto him.... he is not that way... unless he 'learns' it.....
Just keep cut up finger foods, healthy foods, available for him to eat. Teach him to ask you, if he wants something. He has learned... that eating... is a 'bad' thing. It is not.
Teach him... he does NOT HAVE TO 'hide' his hunger or his needing to eat or his needing to have a snack. Keeping it a secret or a hidden thing... is not good, for a child.
Only keep healthy foods around the home. Its okay for him to have a snack... in between his meal times.
My kids, eat if they are hungry. They tell me if they are hungry. I give them something to eat. Something healthy. They don't have to "sneak" food or hide it from me.... just because they are hungry. If they want a 'treat'... they know how to ask. I don't act like it is an evil thing to ask for or want. I just teach them that cookies/candies are not 'food'... it is a treat and if they eat their dinner, they can have one sometimes.
I actually tell my kids, IF they are hungry, they know where to go, they can get it themselves.... its okay. I only have healthy food in my house, not junk. My daughter can even warm things up in the microwave herself if she is hungry. My son, will eat a snack, put Saran wrap on it if he doesn't eat it all and put it in the fridge.
I tell my kids, when they are 'full'... then that's fine. They do not have to eat the WHOLE thing. That is not how their body works. They understand.
My kids, get hungry, often. They are not fat nor unhealthy. They know their body cues.
The only junk I have in the house now, is the Halloween candy. Which is in a closet... and they can have a certain amount each day. No problem. They don't have to 'sneak' food.
all the best,
Susan