Two years ago, I had a “light bulb moment” about snacking when I saw a mom and her child on the playground one day (read: “Snacking Insanity“).
Since that moment, I’ve become much more aware of the snacks my kids are getting–and what I see isn’t good. It’s a problem, and not just in my house. When I started researching the idea of “oversnacked” kids for Parents magazine last year, I was struck by what I was learning: Kids are eating more snacks than ever before, mostly processed foods high in sugar, fat, salt, and refined flour. And it’s hurting their health.
My piece for Parents appeared last month and here’s a look:
Obesity experts now believe that the frequency of eating, not just bigger portion sizes, is also to blame for the uptick in calorie intake for kids and grown-ups alike. “Our children are being offered food at every turn,” says Yoni Freedhoff, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa. And adding just one extra snack each day can make a big impact. In fact, it’s possible that childhood obesity is driven by as little as 165 extra calories a day for kids ages 2 to 7, say researchers at both Harvard and Columbia universities. That’s roughly the amount in a handful of potato chips. [You can read the entire article here.]
I was also interviewed about the story for a Q&A that appears on Parents.com, where I freely admit that I was guilty of over-snacking my kids too:
When you have a toddler out in public, the first time you don’t have a snack and your child has a meltdown because they’re too hungry, that really scars you — so you think you have to carry something around at all times to avoid it. But then it’s really easy for that to get out of hand. When you have a million containers and baggies of food for a one-hour outing to the playground you have to think, “Is this necessary?” [You can read the Q&A here.]
And snacking’s not just a problem at home. Snacks are ubiquitous in our children’s lives, seemingly everywhere: At preschool. At camp. At school. At church. At sports. That’s why I’m happy about the USDA’s “Smart Snacks in School” proposal that would require all food sold in schools outside of breakfast and lunch (such as food in vending machines and snack bars) to meet certain nutritional standards. These include limits on calories and sugar and an emphasis on whole grains and nutrients like calcium and potassium. It’s not perfect (I predict a lot of baked chips and fortified cereal bars) but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
If you want to change the snack culture for all kids (including yours!) here are 3 steps you can take right now:
- Give your support to the USDA’s “Smart Snacks in Schools” proposal by leaving your comment here (click on the blue “Comment Now” button). But do it quickly: The comment period ends next Tuesday, April 9th.
- Find out what kinds of snacks your child is getting outside the home, such as at school, church, scouts meetings, and sports games. Talk to the person in charge to find out if you can improve the snacks or eliminate them altogether.
- Consider how your child snacks at home. Lately, I’ve been working with my serial-snacker preschooler on stretching the time between meals and snacks. We drew a clock together and talked about when we eat during the day. We also made a “closed” sign for the kitchen. I want my kids to know what hunger and fullness feel like–that’s a tool they’ll need their entire lives.
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Andrea says
Yes, I have an almost four year old, who is a snacker. I appreciate reading your stuff, Sadly, not only does it give me insight into good habits for my children now, but what’s to come. But you know what else I’m also concerned about? Adult snacking. I just started a new year long project at work that will consist of monthly public meetings. The project is great funded on a tight budget. And I was informed that I need to provide snacks at every meeting. A salty snack, a sweet snack, and fruit. We’ve gone too far.
Sally says
Thanks Andrea. You are so right about adult snacking! I am constantly amazed that even grown-ups arrange snacks for meetings that last less than an hour. Thanks for another blog post idea! 🙂
Robin Jingjit says
I have seen that 165 calorie a day stat before somewhere (or maybe here? Anyway) but it’s still shocking. Who could guess it could be something so little and “harmless” that could make such a huge difference.
Michele says
I was shocked when my daughter brought home her lunchbox from preschool (more than once) with an empty candy wrapper in it. I asked her who gave her the candy. The lunch teacher.
Why is the lunch teacher handing out chocolates to 4 year olds? It wasn’t a holiday or someone’s birthday, either. I was extremely disappointed, especially since I carefully choose the foods that go in her lunch.
Rhonda F. says
I think timing of lunch and other meals is very important to take into consideration. Our school has 3 lunch periods. The kids who eat late really do need a healthy snack to make it until lunch. Way back when I was in high school, I started school at 7:30am. I had 4th lunch at 1:30. I was starving by 11:30. I was very grateful for the teachers who let us bring a snack to class. I sure they would have agreed that you can’t teach a child who is focused on their hunger rather than the lesson. My kids have a breakfast at home, a morning snack and lunch at school and then nothing else until dinner, unless dinner is going to be late and they are too hungry to wait. I think it’s important to teach kids that “snack” is a time not a type of food and it’s meant to tide you over until the next meal. Dessert and treats are are not snacks, although we occasionally give a treat at snack time, the kids are aware that it is a treat.
lesley jefferson says
Great article and good links. Also insightful comments. I like the way Rhonda highlights the difference between a snack and a treat. Habit 3 on the Zlimm123 weight loss program advises: Limit snacks. This is not just because most of we have come to regard as snacks are full of addictive fats and sugars, but because snacking gets in the way of the chance to recognize a healthy appetite. A healthy appetite is very different from a craving or a conditioned response to an external trigger. Kids need to learn to tell the difference, and only to use a healthy snack to tide them over to the next meal.
Anne says
I have major concerns about the snacks my kids get at school, as it seems to occur on an almost daily basis. I provide my 2 kindergarteners with a healthy lunch that they eat at 10:30, and a healthy snack that they eat at 2:00 in their classroom (that sometimes includes a “treat” such as a few store bought crackers or a homemade cookie). The bulk of what I pack for them is made up of homemade, fresh, whole foods (fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, nuts without added salt/oil, etc.). The only reason I sometimes pack some sort of processed crap (a few pretzels, goldfish, whatever) is so they can taste some of the packaged foods that most of their classmates are eating every day for lunch and snacks. I thought it might help my son, who we adopted at almost 3 years old and who is still obsessed with food (particularly that which comes in crinkly, shiny packages), but so far it hasn’t worked as I’d hoped. He still longs for all the processed foods surrounding him at every turn, and supplements with it freely when given the opportunity.
I really resent when I find out my kids have been given M&M’s lollipops from one teacher, an ice cream to celebrate the end of a standardized test phase (that they didn’t even participate in) by other school personnel, cupcakes from a fellow parent for a birthday party, chemical-laden popcorn to celebrate meeting some BoxTops for Education goal, etc… It really never ends, and sometimes there are multiple handouts in a day. If I knew about them in advance, I would pack less, and of course not include any kind of treat in their lunches and snacks that day. I generally I don’t find out about the extra treats until the end of the day when my daughter tells me (often bringing the items home and asking if it they are okay to eat, or telling me that she didn’t partake).
If I only had my daughter, who likes to eat healthful foods most of the time and self regulates on the sweets and junk extremely well for a 6 year old, I would just shake my head at all the garbage they are offered but it wouldn’t have a significant impact on our lives. My son is another story all together. To say it is difficult to raise a food obsessed child surrounded by such unhealthy food and eating practices is an understatement. It would help a lot if other people would stop trying to feed my kids at every turn so I could feel good about giving them treats as I see fit.
Thanks for your blog. I recently found it and really enjoy it.
Sally says
Anne–sounds like there is a lot of junk at your school. I can see why you are so frustrated! I wonder if you could speak with the teacher or principal (or even bring this up at a PTA meeting) and voice your concerns. If it’s a public school that’s part of the National School Lunch Program, they should have some kind of wellness policy on the books. It’s really not fair to our kids that they’re put in the position of being offered so much junk–and as you said, your daughter regulates her intake pretty well, but it’s harder for your son (as it is for most people, grown-ups included!). There are simply too many “celebrations” and reasons given for junk food handouts and treat-laden parties these days, and it really needs to stop. Thanks for your comment and I hope things improve at your child’s school!
Jacque says
My 4.5 year old wants to eat all day long. Within 20 minutes of eating an actual meal he wants a snack. We are also working on stretching the time between meals and snacks. I love the idea of a clock. I think we need to make one this weekend.
Sally says
Jacque–Yep, mine would eat all day too! It’s something we continue to work on. Good luck!
Anne says
Sally- Thanks for your suggestions and support. I couldn’t agree more regarding the over-abundance of “celebrations” these days.
I did speak to both the principal and my kids’ kindergarten teacher at the very beginning of the year (due to the difficulty in-class treats posed for our son in pre-school), and thankfully their main teacher is very supportive. She tries to warn me in advance when treats will be served at school so I can plan how to handle the situation. You would think that would be enough, but unfortunately she often doesn’t know what other staff and parents have planned. Even when I do know of events that will involve treats (school birthday celebrations, class parties, etc.), there isn’t always an easy way to handle it without either making my son feel left out (which I fear will only make the food more desirable) or grinning and bearing it. There have been occasions when I’ve picked my kids up early from school to just avoid it.
The main reason I wanted to write to you again was to thank you for inspiring me. Your blog has made me feel more optimistic that I can make a difference, and I have been actively seeking (and finding!) like-minded parents and teachers from my kids’ school, building relationships with some staff, and getting some attention from our school board on this issue. They have just given me a month to come up with a draft for a food policy at our school to (hopefully) put in the Parent Handbook for the new school year!! I am going to get input from staff and parents who have expressed interest in being part of a health committee, and am really hoping we can get food out of the classroom for the most part, with the possible exception of ethnic food for cultural events. I know of one Parent Handbook with sections on birthday celebrations and class parties not involving food that I can use as a model, but if you have any suggestions for schools with written food related policy, I would love to look at other examples. I expect there will be push back from some parents (and possibly the PTO as they are some of the biggest “pushers” of serving and selling junk at school to raise funds) who feel it is their right to serve food at school, but I’m hoping we will have enough support to do the right thing.
Thank you so much for being an inspiration to those of us trying to raise healthy kids!
Sally says
Anne–congratulations on creating awareness and change at your school! So thrilled for you–and thank you for your very kind words. Here are some resources for you in drafting your school food policy:
School Bites has a good page of resources on her blog: http://school-bites.com/school-food-resources/
Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has some resources as well: http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/what_we_do.aspx?id=160
The School Nutrition Association has good info too: http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Content.aspx?id=2168
If you need more resources or help, let me know! And good luck!!!
Lisa says
My mom is a 2nd grade teacher and they often have healthy snacks at her school…apple slices, cherry tomatoes with dip, carrots, grapes etc. And most kids don’t eat them. And they just get thrown away…tax payer money wasted. She would just bring them all home instead of letting them go to waste. Sad.
Sally says
Lisa–that’s a shame. I hope she sticks with it because some kids–especially those who don’t see fruits and vegetables at home–may need more time and exposures with it. Glad to hear they have healthy snacks though. She’s modeling healthy eating habits, and that is so important.