Family & Consumer Science News
Children's Snacks: Plan them, don't ban them!
By Terri Black County Extension Agent

Three nutritious meals may not be enough for young children. Their stomachs are too small to get the necessary daily nutrients from meals only, and there is no rule about having just three meals a day. Smaller portions, more times a day, may satisfy your child's hunger. When feeding young children, a good rule of thumb for toddler size servings is about 1 tablespoon of food for each year of age. You can feed them more if they are still hungry.

Remember that food safety is most important. Make sure foods for young children are not choking hazards. Do not feed raw vegetables, popcorn, nuts, peanuts, raisins or other dried fruit to children under three (3) years of age.

Children often prefer fruit juice to any other drink or fruit. Excessive amounts of juice are high in calories that may contribute to weight gain and tooth decay. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends no more than two 6-ounce glasses of juice a day.

Snack choices need to be nutritious. Good choices are fruits, vegetables, whole grain breads and crackers, low-fat cheese and yogurt. Very young children need fat in their diets as part of their nutritional requirements. However, after age two, reduce the fat level to low fat and eventually, to non-fat dairy products. Be aware that other foods labeled as "low fat" or "fat free" may not tell the whole story. Read labels carefully for high calorie content from sugar. Most packaged snack foods are naturally "cholesterol free" but may still be very high in fat, saturated fat and sugar.

Healthy snacks are sometimes difficult to get children to eat. One of the best ways is to be a role model for them. Join your children in eating healthy snacks. Other tips for getting young children to eat healthy snacks are:

Similar choices. Offer comparable choices - Do you want apple or orange slices, graham crackers or soda crackers, celery or carrots?

Variety of snacks. If you offer the same thing repeatedly, kids may get bored. They may ask for unhealthy, fad snacks they see in TV ads.

Be creative. Dress up snacks for maximum appeal. Use dips such as fruit yogurt and low-fat dressing. Cut vegetables in a variety of ways to make them more appealing. Make faces with food. Make cookie cutter sandwiches, cheese slices or whole grain tortilla pieces.

Fun to eat. If your child is old enough to use toothpicks safely, take advantage of them. Use steamed veggies with low fat dip. Let your child spear to his/her heart's content. Pieces of meat and cheese are other options.

Healthy habits may take some time. For children who are used to sweet, fat-filled, high calorie snacks, it will take awhile to change eating habits. Look for positive changes over weeks and months. Compliment them on their good choices. Teaching children to make healthy snack choices today will provide benefits to them for the rest of their lives.

For more information on feeding young children, contact the Burke County Extension Office at 706-554-2119.

Source: Colorado State University Extension