Choosing your child’s snack carefully is very important, here are the foods to favor.
Snacks are one of children’s regular meals, necessary for their energy needs. They are important until the end of their growth and are therefore often maintained until adolescence. However, this snack must be well chosen. Public Health France gave some recommendations on the foods that should be included in it.
The Health Authority first reminded that we should avoid letting children eat their snack in front of screens and instead encourage “parent/child interactions” at such times. It is also recommended to keep it at a regular time, away from dinner.
For the foods to choose, it is first of all not recommended to give fruit juice, because it contains “sugars”, but is “low in fiber”. This does not count in the portions of fruit needed each day. Before 11 years, it is also suggested to limit the consumption of fruit juice to half a glass per day and if possible, with pressed fruits. It is also necessary to limit cakes and pastries at snack time, which are too sweet and too fatty.
If, exceptionally, cakes are purchased, it is essential to check the Nutri-Score of these foods to avoid all those that are at level E. In a comparison of children’s foods, UFC-Que Choisir screened 11 industrial snacks intended for little ones. Among them, four products received the Nutri-Score E: the “Whaou” chocolate-filled pancakes, the “Prince” bars, the “Dinosaurus” from Lotus and the “Pepitos Pockitos” from Lu. They are considered “particularly high in calories because sugar and fat represent two thirds of their weight”.
Instead, Santé publique France recommends a very healthy snack that is also a good idea for the wallet: give children “bread with a few squares of chocolate or a little butter or jam”. To accompany this little treat, parents can opt for a fresh fruit or compote or even a dairy product. Since children need calcium, they can consume up to three dairy products per day.
In the UFC-Que Choisir study, two compotes received the best Nutri-Score (A), those from “St Mamet” and “Pom’potes bio”. These products, ideal for snacks, can also cost less than a packet of biscuits.