Nutritionist's warning to school parents: 'Stop giving your kids Bento boxes’

Snack boxes are a popular option for school lunch boxes, but according to this Aussie expert, they could also be contributing to your child's fussy eating habits. 

Long gone are the days when a snack at the park translated into a piece of fruit and maybe a cup of milk. Nowadays our toddlers and children are lovingly packed a box filled with an array of brightly coloured and appealing snacks they are free to graze on throughout the morning or afternoon. 

While such boxes are Instagram-friendly and appear to offer our little ones a great range of delicious, wholesome food, there is a downside to this style of snack grazing which may be having significant implications for their nutrient intake and long-term eating habits.

Read on to explore why. 

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They are too many carbs

If you take a closer look at the foods that are commonly added to a snack box, most likely you will find that chopped fruit and dried fruits feature frequently, as does rice based chips and crackers, biscuits, sometimes cheese and occasionally a few vegetables. \

While most of these are ‘healthy’ options, most of these foods are carbohydrate-based, and refined processed carbohydrate options. While small children do need energy for growth and development, they do not need a constant stream of sugar for 2-3 hours each day, as they munch through a snack box.

Their grazing habit impacts appetite

Perhaps the most important thing to consider is the effect that grazing has on appetite for the remainder of the day.

In many cases, toddlers and small children are identified as ‘fussy’ by parents as they regularly reject their balanced, healthy meals, when in reality they are simply not hungry as they have munched on enough calories through the morning and afternoon, before lunch and dinner when nutrient-rich, protein and vegetable-based meals tend to be offered.

RELATED: Mum’s genius fussy eater solution

Nutritionist Susie Burrell claims Bento and snack boxes are not a great option for kids. Image: iStock

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It teaches kids to eat all the time

While young children do need plenty of energy, another downside of offering a packed snack box over several hours is that it teaches small children that it is ok to seek out food all the time. Ideally, all humans will eat a meal and then wait at least a couple of hours before eating again, when hunger strikes and the meal beforehand has been digested.

Grazing can impact the link between eating when we are hungry and stopping when we are full, and program small children to seek out food for a number of reasons other than hunger, including boredom or sadness, which can ultimately lead to overeating.

You're packing too much food

While active growing children do need to eat regularly to obtain the calories they require, they actually need much less than we think that they do, and the volumes of food they will require on a day-to-day basis will differ widely. This means that when they are offered a relatively large snack box packed full of tempting, colourful foods, it can mean that they end up eating too much food, hungry or not.

Nutritionist Susie Burrell talks more about fussy eating habits and children who only eat white/beige food on Kidspot's podcast, Mum Club. Listen (below) and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

Kids snacks are not always healthy

There are plenty of instances when a snack can look healthy, for example, a rice cracker or dried fruit snack, but the reality is that sometimes even snacks that look healthy can be highly processed and offer little other than refined carbohydrates.

A good snack mix for children, especially small children, will include chopped vegetables, fruit and other wholefoods including small pieces of cheese or wholegrain snacks such as small wholegrain crackers or cereal bites.

Here's how to do it right

The good news is that it is not impossible to build a snack box that is still appealing to small children but will not impact their food intake at meal times.

Firstly, wait a couple of hours post breakfast or lunch until food is offered again.

Next, focus your snack box around chopped vegetables and some small bite-sized pieces of fruit and whole foods like small, bite-sized piece of cheese, or brown rice cakes. Then, if you do want to include a couple of sweeter treats, remember that small children need small, child-sized treats or just 1-2 small sweet biscuits or confectionery.

Most importantly, limit the snacking occasion to just 20-30 minutes, rather than allowing grazing over several hours. This will help to ensure your toddler or child is then hungry again come lunch or dinner time.

Originally published as Nutritionist's warning to school parents: 'Stop giving your kids Bento boxes’