I was curious what other moms do on the subject of your child's access to the pantry.  At what age do you allow your children to eat snacks out of the pantry without your permission?

My children are 4 and 2 so I have not ventured to let them help themselves yet. I would guess that it depends on when your child knows when they are hungery or just need a snack and when the would understand that some foods are good anytime and some foods are good only sometimes. Another idea would be to set aside a shelf they can reach with snacks that you feel comfortable with them eating and only putting a days worth of snacks on it. That way they can help themselves but you still know what and how much they are eating so they don't over do the snacking and skip meal time. -Amanda-