Here's what they don't tell you in the parenting bibles.

Here’s something they fail to mention in the Parenting bibles – your children will be hungry, all…the…time.

From the minute they get up of a morning until they fall into bed exhausted at night, their hunger does not abate and as parents, it’s sometimes almost impossible to keep them satisfied.

As a parent I’ve mastered the art of having something ready and prepared for the big three – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Cereal or toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and a hearty, filling meal for dinner.

What baffles me are those ‘in between times”, those other three times of the day when my children are STILL inexplicably hungry. In particular, 9am, 4pm and 8pm. These timeslots all have something in common.

They are all stopgaps.

You may want to have Devondale Smoothies for that 4pm frenzy, cheese snacks for the morning and yoghurt for dessert just in case.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Devondale Smoothies. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100 per cent authentic and written in their own words. To see what other readers think of the new Devondale Smoothies range click here.

9am

Breakfast is done, the kids have eaten, discarded the plates ever so eloquently upon the sink and managed to find something else to fill their time until the next meal of the day. Or for oh, at least an hour or so anyway. The next thing you look up and find them opening the fridge, rifling through the cupboards and looking for something to fill the void in their stomachs that was not so long ago full to bursting with cereal and OJ. This is my personal time to direct them to the fridge and the yoghurt.

4pm

Any parent of a school-aged child who has endured the ride home with your apparently starving child, will understand this particular time of day. They are irrationally angry and perhaps even say things in hanger (hungry anger) that they don’t really mean to. The thing being is that you don’t want them to be involved in an afternoon feeding frenzy because (and let me quote my mother here) they’ll ruin their dinner. So I have to allow them to eat something that will satisfy them but not fill them up. The thing is, you also want it to be nutritious but something that they will WANT to eat. This is a curious balance that isn’t always easy to find.

8pm

So by this stage of the night, the kids should well and truly be thinking about going to bed and sleeping. Except they’re not. Because they’re you know, they’re hungry AGAIN. Yet again as a parent you are faced with the task of filling a small void to get some peace. Presumably, just like the other timeslots, they’ve eaten their main meals yet they still need one last snack before they can down tools for the day. And I’ve got to admit, as a parent, most adults probably fill this void with wine. As kids though, to have a go-to snack that is both healthy and filling and on hand, will be what gets you through this particular timeslot because let’s face it, no one is going out to the supermarket at this late hour

I myself, am forever looking for ideas to keep them satisfied at these times. Luckily Devondale have the delicious and nutritious options available that will see you prepared and ready to feed them something balanced that won’t ruin their appetite. They’re a great easy go-to product that I can keep in the fridge or in the car.

How do you stop your kids from getting ‘hangry’?

Devondale is a dairy co-operative proudly owned and run by Aussie farmers. We’ve created NEW Devondale Smoothies, a nutritious and delicious beverage for children.

Devondale Smoothies is a blend of our Aussie milk and real fruit – simple! With no artificial additives and no cane sugar, they’re the snack you don’t have to worry about.

They’re also School Canteen Approved (Green)*, a source of calcium and Low GI*. Plus they’re delicious and available in four classic smoothie flavours: Berry Mix, Tropical, Strawberry & Banana and Banana & Honey. Find the 3 packs in the lunchbox beverages aisle of your local supermarket.

*Visit www.Devondale.com.au/Smoothies for more information