Healthy Snacking Tips For The Little Ones

If you are a parent there is one thing you know for certain, kids can eat, a lot! But do they really need to be snacking all day? The short answer is yes, but it is important to ensure that the foods they are snacking on are nutrient rich and not just foods with empty calories. It is important for kids to snack throughout the day to help them keep their energy up; kids have small stomachs and therefore need to eat smaller meals or snacks more often than an adult. Along with smaller stomachs, kids are doing a lot of growing and have much higher energy needs than an adult. You know their energy needs like running, jumping, bouncing around the house? These activities contribute to the need for more fuel throughout the day.

Not only do parents need to take close note of their little one's food consumption throughout the day but it is also important for your child's daycare center or school to include healthy snacks during the day to help maintain your child's energy level and be sure their nutritional needs are consistently being met.

Snacking every few hours throughout the day will help to keep your child's blood sugar consistent and hopefully your child's mood more stable throughout the day as well. Many meltdowns are a result of being tired and/or hungry. A snack could have been the answer to prevent that temper tantrum. A lot of times hunger is the reason for a grumpy or stubborn attitude from your child.

When creating snacks for your child remember to keep the portions "snack" size and not meal size; also making sure that your snacks are fiber rich and nutrient dense is very important. Parents and school teachers should try and incorporate a few of the food groups in each snack serving. 

Giving your child a handful of fruit chews or other highly processed snacks will not keep them full and will cause a sugar crash in a short period of time. Yes, back to the meltdown mode.

Need a little assistance to help fuel your little one's day? Here are some ideas of healthy snack for your growing child:

• Cut up fruit with yogurt for dipping or try fresh veggies and hummus.
• Whole grain crackers and cheese
• Smoothies made with real fruit
• Yogurt with granola
• Celery with peanut butter and raisins

Before adding new foods to your child's diet or changing their diet drastically, you should consult your pediatrician. And of course, don't forget to incorporate fun, healthy activities into playtime to get your little ones moving! With all that energy from healthy food, they will need an activity to burn it off!