Cue 17 different people posting about how they would NEVER give their kids Cheetos...

Mmmmm . . . . Cheetos.

I have never commented on here before, but totally had to just to give a big "LOL" to delilah2's comment. :)

I like the idea in theory, but my kids would tear that apart in 2.3 seconds.

I do this, always have ... works great!

I think it's a great idea. I just moved all my pots and pans to the pantry because the cupboard was just too messy with them in it and I've been wondering what to do with the empty cupboard. This would keep my kids out of the pantry, and keep them from eating the school snacks while at home. I buy their snacks in bulk then fill reusable sandwich baggies for lunch, so I can just fill some other jars with them for the kid cupboard. I think my cup and dish cupboard would look much nicer without the kid stuff in their too.

those chips would last about 1.3 seconds in my house if i had them at the kids' level! but i do love the idea overall. i just wish i had a spare cabinet...

Ha! That is too cute, and my 4 year old would eat every last thing in there in about 3 seconds. Then, she would take a bath with the plastic cutlery. Ask me how I know. It is really adorable though, perhaps for a child with a bit more self-control than mine.

Though, now that I think about it, this would be the perfect set up for my daughter's tea set. We have a cupboard like this. She could set up all her cups, saucers and play food in there.

I love that this gives kids the independence to serve themselves. This is really a great way to learn self control and responsibility, if you, say, only re-stock once a week, they have to live with that. And they could be responsible for loading/unloading their own dishes into this cupboard.

I am a fan!

I do this. The rule is they can "visit" the snack bin once between meals. It works very well with my 3 and 5 year olds!

We do something similar. We have a snack basket that I (try to remember) to keep stocked with stuff they can eat anytime. No cheetos, of course ;) - they'd be gone in a day. I like the idea of putting the plates and bowls done there. My days of pouring bowls of cereal are over.

I couldn't keep my 2 yr old out of the pantry, even with safety locks so I did this with snacks and plastic cutlery and plates. She has self control, but does try to push it sometimes. She is 4 now and uses the raisons to make "raison soup" in her play kitchen.

Kid cabinet? Stoner dream. I want that to be my cabinet.

This concept has been practiced in Montessori classrooms for years, but it isn't for every kid. When we move next week my 3.5 year old will have his own cupboard, but he's very independent and practical. Though I'll have to decide an alternative snack solution than the picture above.

We have a cupboard like this, but my oldest is 2.5 and mostly just jumbles everything together...lol

He does like to get his cups and bowls out of there for me to fill with snacks, though, which I like a lot. Sometimes on his own he'll fill one of his bowls with cereal and I just clean up what he spills. I think after he turns 3 this winter that he'll be able to use his snack cabinet more.

Okay, and I'll be the one to say it: there could be a few pieces of fruit in that picture :P

I don't think my kids would eat proper meals if they were allowed to snack whenever they wanted, and I'm a big fan of proper family meals. So I'm not convinced this would work the way I want it, even with healthy food.

This is a "very Montessori" concept, which I think is wonderful. Allow kids to learn/practice independence & self-control.... I love the pp idea of only stocking once a week so they learn to make good choices and be disciplined. In our Montessori classroom, the pistachio bowl may have a card with the "5" written on it, or the cookies "1" to teach appropriate serving sizes....
Overall, I think it's a great idea!

My mother in law about blows a gasket when she comes to our house because of our snack cabinet. She can not believe we let them make their own choices about when to eat and how much. Now, that being said, the cabinet only has things I am okay with them eating at all times...apples, walnuts, dried fruit, carrots, hummus, rice cakes, oranges, etc..There is no packaged or processed food available to them in the cabinet. In our home, granola bars, Lara bars, etc. are treats and have to be asked for. To my thinking, even if they eat too much between meals, it is all wholesome, quality food, but this has never been an issue. I think the key is to line out your expectations with your child and to only stock the cabinet with items that you are okay with being eaten at any time. My daughters do attend a Montessori grade school and previously a preschool, so this concept is very familiar to them, but I firmly believe that most children can learn to not abuse this set up if it is gradually introduced. Maybe water cups and a pitcher of water first. Then, add in a bowl of fruit with only the number of pieces you would allow them to have in a day. You can continue on from there.

Oh, and our snack cabinet would be cleaned out in five minutes if I put a bowl of chips in there!

LOL yeah let's put all the snackfood on the most easily accessible shelf! I'm sure it won't be gone in less than 24 hours...

This is a great idea, but you know, without the junk food. ;-)

Yeah, leave the Cheetos to Mommy!

@delilah2 You are so right on. I was horrified by the food choices in there! My son gets junk food once in a while but if we had a cabinet full of chips and candy he'd turn into a little extra hyper tornado. His all access snack cupboard is the fruit bin, veggie bin, and the cheese bin in the fridge.