Are your kids eating too many snacks?
I came across this blog post and thought it was an interesting question. Some of the criticisms on over-snacking the article brings up include:
My first reaction was defensive: of course my kids don't snack too much. But now I wonder.
2 Answers
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I just sat down to read this as I was giving my daughter her after school snack. (She also gets a snack at school in the morning.) My first thought was to ask if this doctor took into consideration how much milk the offered and when, as milk has a significant amount of sugar that is likely to stay on the teeth as well as cause weight gain if drunk in excess. Another issue with the article is that just because it's organic, doesn't mean it isn't junk food. Had the article, or the doctor, pointed out alternative healthy snacks, it would not have appeared so one-sided. The real point if the article isn't that some kids are over-snacking, but snacking on the wrong things.
A good rule of thumb that we've been following is a snack consists of two food groups, i.e. grain and fruit, or dairy and vegetable. This is the guideline for all the parent-supplied, shared snacks at school. Today's school snack was pretzels and clementines. After school we had cheese and pears. Usually if I am asked for a snack before dinner I put out cut up vegetables for snacking. (I don't consider dinner ruined if they gorge on carrots, peppers, broccoli and green beans.) We often talk about what to have as a snack and why certain foods are "sometimes" snacks. I realized my daughter got it when she told another classmate in preschool who was complaining about having to eat tomatoes that "sometimes it's not about what you like, it's about being healthy."
As children get older, they don't require as many snacks as when they were toddlers. Often they are too busy to have time to sit for a snack. Also, as babies we give fingers foods not so much as a meal, but as an activity. If children are eating a healthy amount at meals, then in my opinion they are not snaking too much.
Another important aspect of food is the fact that eating is a social activity. Having snacks after a soccer game, or at the park with friends provides lessons in sharing and manners and provides a common rest time for children to communicate with each other.
I think, as parents, we know our children best. Some kids are grazers, and some kids are fine with three squares a day. We work with what we have. I always keep snacks available just in case. You never know when you'll get stuck in traffic or need to run an errand instead of heading home. A granola bar is better than stopping for fast food. We cannot always provide healthy, balanced meals and snacks help to fill the void.
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Wow. Interesting. I thought it was impossible to eat too many healthy snacks. In fact, I was feeling like a less-than-ideal parent for often not being equipped with a little pick-me-up between meals. I've seen things that say "adults eat, on average, every 90 minutes, so why should we not follow our children's lead when they ask for snacks?" And there's that old adage - "eat when you're hungry" - follow your body's needs, and body will guide you away from mindless over-eating, or binge-eating from a sugar-low.
I'm suspicious of this article, even though it's in SFGate, because it reads so one-sided. Only one doctor/parent is cited, and no nuance in presented in terms of more than one acceptable way to feed one's child healthfully. On the other hand, I can believe that crackers (even organic, low sugar crackers) all the time between and for meals does not a healthy diet make.
I don't know how to reconcile this advice though with the advice not to make a big issue out of mealtimes. My 2-year-old LOVES bread/crackers, fruit, dairy products and little else. We will continue to aim for green beans, over time.
