How did you eat as a child?

i wasn't overweight and i wasn't exactly healthy? i only gained a bit of weight in middle school and that's where i began making healthier choices.

my family stocked up on lots of processed snacks in bulk too. i overate sometimes on those snacks and sugary candy.
my day typically looked like this:

breakfast: two slices of bread with eggs and bacon. the bacon was greasy and crispy. the eggs sometimes had sliced up ham in them.
i started eating breakfast from stores in middle school, like high calorie egg sandwiches or cuban bread with butter, croquettes, etc.

lunch: a small pack of gummies, a bag of chips, and a typical sandwich (two slices of bread, cheese, ham/bologna, sometimes a type of spread). i'd often get another snack too like a roll up or something.

snacks: processed foods (chips, gummies, candy). my mom would often make a sandwich for me when i came back from school or bring me a fast food, to-go meal.
other times, i'd fit guava, fruit, or watermelon juice in when we went to a nearby park.

dinner: typically whatever my mom makes but my parents would often buy take away or restaurant foods like lasagna, chinese, chicken and rice, etc.

if my mom made the dinner, it could be meatloaf with mashed potatoes and vegetables or creamy shrimp noodles.... it varies

I wasn't overweight until I hit puberty. More often than not, cereal during the week with banana or strawberries depending on the season, weekends were eggs. Lunch most often was school lunch, if I didn't like what they were serving than I would probably have a tuna sandwich and some carrots, or maybe bologna sandwich. Dinner was mostly chicken, fish and occasionally pork or beef with a side of salad (I didn't like cooked veggies) and a starch probably rice. We never had snacks in the house, no chips or cakes, or cookies. I'm not sure this was a good thing, as once I was able to have money and go to the store on my own I tended to buy all the things we didn't have at home, more often than not hostess stuff. Candy and cakey stuff. I would hide it in my drawer in my room. This carried into adult hood even when I was married, my ex and I would go to the movies and both get a box of candy, when I got home, I would hide mine in my dresser, my ex knew I had it, who was I hiding it from? Once we got divorced I had to physically force myself to bring any candy or things I deemed in my mind "bad" into the kitchen and out of the dresser drawers. Then I had to force myself to not hide them behind "healthier" things in the cupboard especially if someone was coming over and might see and then I got to the point where I could leave them out and didn't care if anyone saw. But that took a concerted effort on my part, it was so engrained since childhood.

Oh man. So, spoiler alert - I was a latchkey kid. My parents both worked full time and my mom was also pursuing advanced degrees in the evening (literal hero, everyone). So from an early age I was responsible for my own meals and usually for dinner at least once a week when my dad had Lions Club meetings or another obligation after work.

Typical Breakfast: cereal or pop tarts (occasionally toaster streudel if we bought it that week) before the bus.

Typical lunch: My parents gave me $10 a week for allowance. I could use that to buy lunch every day if I needed to, or I could save it for the weekend and use it for movies or going out with my friends. If I bought lunch, it was usually nachos, or there was a little market of snacks and I would get cookies, chips, and a bagel. If I saved the money, I'd pack a sandwich (often bagel with pepperoni and cheddar cheese) and some chips, and maybe fruit if we had it.

After school: volleyball practice or play practice. Sometimes we'd grab Subway (the only restaurant within walking distance of school) before games. If I didn't have practice, I'd come home and SNACK. Chips and salsa, mostly.

Dinner: If my dad cooked, we'd have a pan-fried meat like pork chops, some type of potato, and either canned peas or canned green beans (both of which I can't stand anymore). Occasionally he'd make pancakes or hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. If I was responsible for dinner, we'd have hot dogs and mac and cheese, or sandwiches and chips, or tuna helper - things children can make.

I didn't really discover food until college, and now cooking is my favorite thing. I cook dinner almost every night, now. When I was studying for the bar exam, I moved back in with my parents and took over the cooking. When I moved out, my dad was so upset he couldn't have my food anymore! Now I make things like grilled chicken and panzanella salad with roasted asparagus or grilled steaks with salad and roasted Brussels sprouts (I made both of those meals this week!).

I think it should be pretty obvious from my diet that I was overweight as a child. I don't blame my parents for that - I think they honestly did the best they could to get me and my brother food, knowing they might not be home to cook for us. I'm still working on my weight loss journey but it's been a food love journey as well!

My grandfather had a garden so we ate a lot of fresh stuff. I was outside all the time except for saturday mornings and maybe an hour in the afternoons so I stayed pretty thin. Breakfast usually consisted of either cereal or grits, lunch was a sandwich and something else, dinner was always a meat and two vegetables. Sometimes it was a meat, a starch and a vegetable. Snacks were usually popcorn.

I was not a fat kid until the 5th grade. My Italian parents used food as positive reinforcement. If I got a good grade, I got a treat. If I had a bad day, I got a treat to make me feel better. We ate lots of carbs and sugar. Cereal for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly sandwich with chips for lunch and of course, pasta and bread always with dinner. My dad was allergic to fish so none of that and my mom was a great cook. I am one of 6 kids and all but one of my siblings have struggled with weight issues. I finally overcame the cycle of emotional eating and rewarding myself with food. Now the focus is on healthy eating and exercise. When I had my own children I watched to make sure I did not use food as a reward. Both my children are healthy eaters.

I was overweight through childhood and reached obesity during high school. I did eat typical American breakfasts like cereal or eggs and bacon, but in my parents' culture, there are other types of food used for breakfast, so I'd also eat that. I ate whenever I wanted and whenever my mom cooked. I was always praised for never being picky about vegetables like many other children. Nearly every day that my dad would came home from work, he gave my siblings and I various treats to share. I always aimed to call dibs for the largest share possible. It's no wonder I was overweight. In high school, I became less active (I outgrew outdoor children's games) but did not change my eating habits which is in part why I became obese rather than just overweight.

Age 12 and under, USA 1974-1986, below average weight, sahm, working father, 2 older siblings-
Breakfast was cereal most days. Sometimes oatmeal or malt-o-meal. On special occasions eggs, pancakes, French Toast.
Lunch at home would have been a sandwich or can of soup. At school the food was stuff like pizza, mac and cheese, fruit and milk. There wasn't a kitchen at the first elementary school I went to. I brought lunch sometimes and it was a sandwich. On Sundays there might be roast beef and such for lunch when we went to my grandmother's home.
Dinner was often meat, potatoes, canned vegetables.
Snacks were dry cereal, fruit, popcorn, cheese usually.
We had dessert on special occasions. We ate out mostly for birthdays or anniversaries.
At home we drank water, tea, hot chocolate, milk. Not pop very often.
No computer. No vcr. No cable tv. Not many video games. Walked to school and other places. We played outside a lot.

Age 13-18, USA 1987-1992, about 10 lbs under a healthy weight, working mother, working father, 2 older siblings (working or away at college)-
Breakfast during the week I skipped or had a candy bar and juice box- parents not aware of this. On weekends it was leftovers or a can of soup often.
Lunch during the week I usually skipped- parents not aware of this. No one at school noticed or cared that the quiet, skinny girl wasn't eating. On weekends lunch was a sandwich, fast food or frozen pizza, frozen dinners.
Dinner- still meat and potatoes and canned vegetables. I was cooking for the family but made what my mom told me to make.
Snacks- same stuff, more chips, crackers, some frozen foods or maybe canned soup... I made up for not eating during the day after school and on weekends I guess
Drinks- same stuff, less milk
More tv. No computer or video games. Walked less. Rode bus to school.
Often cold, tired, hungry and sick.

I started eating more regularly again in college although still often skipped breakfast. I got to a normal weight during and right after college. I didn't become overweight until around 26 years old.

I'm barely not a kid so this is through the 2000's growing up in the UK.
Breakfast was cereal with milk on days it wasn't skipped. The only day any cooking is done in the morning is shrove tuesday/pancake day.
10:50 break at school was a packet of crisps, or an orange, which I'd leave in my bag.
My packed lunch for school was two plain ham/cheese sandwiches, or three sausage rolls, a packet of crisps and a carton of juice.
On the way home, I'd buy myself a few pence worth of sweets, or a chocolate bar.
At home there would usually be some form of chocolate as a snack.
Dinner was a large plate of a pasta dish, or a generous helping of frozen oven foods (sausages, fish fingers, chicken dippers, potato waffles) or some roast meat with potatoes and a veg that I wouldn't be expected to eat much of. Finishing your plate was not enforced but encouraged.
There was always a large desert as a reward for dinner, usually some kind of cake, sometimes with custard or ice cream.
During the evening, we often ate extra crisps or chocolate while watching TV (or in my case, playing on the laptop). There was a wicked comfort food habit going on!
I didn't have any friends at school, so I had no reason to leave the house - I spent my time reading/playing games/playing with my brother.

I started being ashamed of my weight around the age of 7 (I couldn't catch up to anyone in tag), started hating my body at 11 (look how huge my legs are compared to all the other girls' in school and ju jitsu class) and my obesity was a driving factor towards wanting to leave the house to go to university (I wanted to diet without criticism/influence of junk food in the house.) Unfortunately it turned out I was just as capable of feeding myself junk - just more expensive junk!