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Snacks are an important part of kids? diets. Kids have small stomachs, so they need more opportunities to eat throughout the day than adults do. But without boundaries or structure, snacking can easily spin out of control?creating picky eating habits, mealtime power struggles and nutritional issues.

As a mom myself, I know how easy it is to give in to random snack requests, especially when kids aren?t eating well at meals (or when you simply need a distraction in the checkout line). But as a pediatric dietitian, I know that establishing structure around snacks is essential for happy mealtimes, and raising healthy kids.
In fact, one of the first questions I ask parents of picky eaters in my nutrition counselling practice is ?How is snack time structured in your house"? Often, there?s no structure at all?the kids are deciding when and where snacks are served (which should really be up to the parents). When a healthy snack structure is established, mealtimes become less stressful for everyone because it?s more likely that kids will come to the table hungry and ready to eat, and there aren?t hundreds of snack requests all day long.
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