Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.
Why are there more eating opportunities for kids now than in the past?
Replies
-
Snacks and drinks around little kid's sporting events are plain stupid. Parent sends a liter bottle of Gatorade with the kid, drinks and treats after a baseball game in which the kid had maybe 1-2 minute of strenuous exercise for the whole game.0
-
With the way our school is, morning snack is a must. They have recess first, then 13 minutes to come inside, get lunch bags, eat, put bags away, wash their hands and be ready to learn. My 7 year old can maybe eat 1/2 a sandwich in that time. If he didn't have a snack in the morning he would be starving by the end of the day.
My kids are constantly snacking, they never turn down a meal. Most of their snacks are fruits, yogurt and veg, sometimes cereal or granola bars, and i make a batch of cookies or muffins once a week, plus some store bought things. They get a snack after school and are busy with homework, chores, activities and play until dinner, so they don't usually eat much in that time. Water is standard, milk is for with meals, juice is with after school snack if we have it. Dessert happens a few times a week, but of course they eat more after dinner if they are hungry. I don't restrict food for them as they are constantly growing and quite active. The activites they attend don't provide snacks, but they eat before we leave and after we get home, or sometimes on the way home if i bring snacks. Weekends they seem to eat everytime they come inside
My 11 year old is 5'2" and 94 pounds, my soon to be 8 year old is 4'1" and 53 pounds, so i doubt their eating habits are hurting them at all.
Pre-teen girls are much easier to deal with when they're not hungry. Hormones and low blood sugar make for a nasty experience.
0 -
I think it depends on the child. My son is a grazer, always has been. He eats small meals/ snacks throughout the day rather than three meals.
Like dessert with every meal (which is foreign to me), I chalk it up to personal preference.0 -
My boys eat every 2 - 3 hours, so I almost always have snacks about however I'm picky and only carry healthy snacks. Nuts, fruit, veggies and water. Juice is only ever during a sugar low or birthday party. My youngest has problems with hypoglycemia in which his body uses the sugar to fast so he needs extra meals. My oldest and I both have adhd and the hypoglycemia (it's a genetic mutation passed down by my) so to combat the mood swings and lack of focus we both snack often too. Some kids benefit from more frequent meals, with many kids not eating much during main meals due to smaller stomachs. I am all for giving snacks between main meals, but the snacks should still be healthy and fitting one of the normal servings they need to begin with. I don't know many people who can say their kids get the full recommended 5 servings of fruits and veggies in the 3 meals a day. I would never give my boys juice as a snack though, that sugar content is crazy and they can suffice on water if they're thirsty.0
-
I don't have children, but I am a family based social worker...I often have snacks in my bag. I'd rather have an easy access snack that I know what it is if someone I am working with has a child that gets a little hangry. Not sure why that is some kind of issue and don't think it has anything to do with childhood obesity.
I also always have a ready to eat snack with me. I'd rather do that then have to buy something when I am out and about.
Because there's nothing wrong with feeling a little hunger and waiting an hour or so to eat a meal. This having to satisfy a hunger pang the second it hits is an incredibly new, weird concept that I will never understand.
And, yes, now that I think about it, the constant snacks thing with children is a new concept. I had breakfast, lunch, after-school snack and dinner and I don't remember ever feeling particularly hungry. I was usually too busy playing to even think about food.
I think with the helicopter parenting these days and kids not being allowed to just be kids, they probably experience boredom hunger in a way we didn't. Even as an adult I feel hunger when I'm stuck somewhere in front of a desk or something where I don't if I'm up doing things, even cleaning my house. I'll forget to eat if I'm engrossed in an activity I enjoy, but feel like a bottomless pit at work sometimes.
I do think it's probably a good idea to have some nourishment at sporting activities, though. It could be dangerous not to, even if they don't feel like they need it. You don't always feel the need for food or water in the midst of a vigorous activity until it's an emergency situation.
For moat kida sporting activities some water is all that is needed.0 -
Mommysarus wrote: »I don't know many people who can say their kids get the full recommended 5 servings of fruits and veggies in the 3 meals a day.
Oh, that's disheartening. Though it's probably true of many parents too.0 -
Snacks are a good thing. I hate how the weight loss/fitness community has demonized hunger to be a sort of weakness. It's the kind of food and the amount that matters.
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Hey lets have some carrot sticks or a banana. Yay
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Fruit gushers and a fruit roll-up! Nooo2 -
bclarke1990 wrote: »Snacks are a good thing. I hate how the weight loss/fitness community has demonized hunger to be a sort of weakness. It's the kind of food and the amount that matters.
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Hey lets have some carrot sticks or a banana. Yay
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Fruit gushers and a fruit roll-up! Nooo
When I was a kid a trip to the park didn't include anything because I had either just eaten a meal or a meal was coming up. It wasnt just me but everyone else too.
We talk about how we could go outside and play, not coming home until the street lights came on. Who had snacks for that? Who carried a drink?1 -
bclarke1990 wrote: »Snacks are a good thing. I hate how the weight loss/fitness community has demonized hunger to be a sort of weakness. It's the kind of food and the amount that matters.
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Hey lets have some carrot sticks or a banana. Yay
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Fruit gushers and a fruit roll-up! Nooo
When I was a kid a trip to the park didn't include anything because I had either just eaten a meal or a meal was coming up. It wasnt just me but everyone else too.
We talk about how we could go outside and play, not coming home until the street lights came on. Who had snacks for that? Who carried a drink?
I take it by "everyone else" you mean everyone else in your little circle of friends.1 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »bclarke1990 wrote: »Snacks are a good thing. I hate how the weight loss/fitness community has demonized hunger to be a sort of weakness. It's the kind of food and the amount that matters.
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Hey lets have some carrot sticks or a banana. Yay
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Fruit gushers and a fruit roll-up! Nooo
When I was a kid a trip to the park didn't include anything because I had either just eaten a meal or a meal was coming up. It wasnt just me but everyone else too.
We talk about how we could go outside and play, not coming home until the street lights came on. Who had snacks for that? Who carried a drink?
I take it by "everyone else" you mean everyone else in your little circle of friends.
I had few circles through different activities and moving 5 times (different states) between kindergarten and 7th grade.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »bclarke1990 wrote: »Snacks are a good thing. I hate how the weight loss/fitness community has demonized hunger to be a sort of weakness. It's the kind of food and the amount that matters.
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Hey lets have some carrot sticks or a banana. Yay
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Fruit gushers and a fruit roll-up! Nooo
When I was a kid a trip to the park didn't include anything because I had either just eaten a meal or a meal was coming up. It wasnt just me but everyone else too.
We talk about how we could go outside and play, not coming home until the street lights came on. Who had snacks for that? Who carried a drink?
I take it by "everyone else" you mean everyone else in your little circle of friends.
I had few circles through different activities and moving 5 times (different states) between kindergarten and 7th grade.
Exactly. What percentage of all children of your age do you suppose that would be?0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »I don't have children, but I am a family based social worker...I often have snacks in my bag. I'd rather have an easy access snack that I know what it is if someone I am working with has a child that gets a little hangry. Not sure why that is some kind of issue and don't think it has anything to do with childhood obesity.
I also always have a ready to eat snack with me. I'd rather do that then have to buy something when I am out and about.
Because there's nothing wrong with feeling a little hunger and waiting an hour or so to eat a meal. This having to satisfy a hunger pang the second it hits is an incredibly new, weird concept that I will never understand.
And, yes, now that I think about it, the constant snacks thing with children is a new concept. I had breakfast, lunch, after-school snack and dinner and I don't remember ever feeling particularly hungry. I was usually too busy playing to even think about food.
I think with the helicopter parenting these days and kids not being allowed to just be kids, they probably experience boredom hunger in a way we didn't. Even as an adult I feel hunger when I'm stuck somewhere in front of a desk or something where I don't if I'm up doing things, even cleaning my house. I'll forget to eat if I'm engrossed in an activity I enjoy, but feel like a bottomless pit at work sometimes.
I do think it's probably a good idea to have some nourishment at sporting activities, though. It could be dangerous not to, even if they don't feel like they need it. You don't always feel the need for food or water in the midst of a vigorous activity until it's an emergency situation.
For moat kida sporting activities some water is all that is needed.
My 4th grade daughter is on her school's x-country team. Their practice runs for 2 hours after school and is solidly packed with dynamic warm-ups, wind sprints, wind sprints up hills, at least a full 2K or 3K run if not more, and cool-down exercises, with only a few minutes of rest here and there. She and her team mates put in a huge effort and kick @ss the entire time. It is utterly insane to suggest that these kids, ranging from 4th graders to 8th graders, should not be provided with an energy- and nutrient-packed snack between the time they get out of school and the time they have dinner, forcing them to go without food for 6 or more hours, and expecting a high level of physical and academic performance from them. Like the other runners, she is thin and bony enough as it is, without having other parents suggesting she should follow the diet plan of the Polish Resistance and suck it up like we allegedly did in the olden days, which is likely BS anyway unless you grew up in some sort of Dickensian household, living off thin gruel.0 -
bclarke1990 wrote: »Snacks are a good thing. I hate how the weight loss/fitness community has demonized hunger to be a sort of weakness. It's the kind of food and the amount that matters.
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Hey lets have some carrot sticks or a banana. Yay
Trip to the park and you feel a bit hungry? Fruit gushers and a fruit roll-up! Nooo
When I was a kid a trip to the park didn't include anything because I had either just eaten a meal or a meal was coming up. It wasnt just me but everyone else too.
We talk about how we could go outside and play, not coming home until the street lights came on. Who had snacks for that? Who carried a drink?
I always had a drink on me, and frequently would have snacks. Often not healthier snacks as I had a terrible sweet tooth but I still carried snacks. I used to walk all over the city long hours on my bike and walking about so I'd have water with me. Snacking itself isn't a bad thing, I'd rather just teach healthy snacking.
It is kind of disheartening that they may not get all servings in 3 meals, but some kids only eat really small amounts at each meal. Plus with all these on the go or rushed meals certain foods groups are totally lacking. So throwing in a few extra snacks to boost that serving isn't going to hurt. My sons teacher actually asked I pack an extra snack for the afternoon because he just performs better at school with that extra snack.0 -
ReaderGirl3 wrote: »Is the topic of OP discussion to have a debate on "why are kids given more eating opportunities than the past"?
Who's past and what out of the ordinary is giving a young child a snack? At some point kindergarten or young children of a certain age in elementary school.. the teachers have this responsibility to allow snacks in the class room or snack breaks. This sort of stops when the "nap time" stops in school.
Junior high and high school kids are pretty much on their own and feed them selves according to normal eat schedules or if you were in training or sports, or had certain activities that kept you at school longer than the 3:00 bell.. Afternoon snacks right when you get home from school was always expected and I always ate something when I got home.
I never had snacks available at a whim, it was sort of pre-planned with school activities. If there is something I missed, if kids are given food at any time or any where and the parents are involved and there is issue with weight, then there lies the problem.
My 4th grader (9 years old) is still supposed to bring in a daily snack for herself, per school rules. I don't know what grade this stops (we pulled my older daughter before she got to 5th). Curious to know what the cut off grade is for snack time in other areas is.
My children are 9, 6, 3, and 8 mos. The two older ones are in 3rd grade and K. No snacks at school at all in either grade. When my oldest was in K they did get a snack, but that changed sometime over the past few years (1st grade and older never had snack time). Food items are not allowed to be sent in at all ( besides the child's individual packed lunch, sharing is verboten) unless they are individually wrapped and they are sent home with the students (if you wanted to send Ina treat on a holiday or bday for the class, for example). I'm in Ohio.
0 -
generalities and oversimplifications...and of course classic anecdotal evidence!!! yay!!!1
-
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/u-s-children-generation-snack/?_r=1A sweeping study of 31,337 children and adolescents released on Tuesday tracked snacking and meal trends from 1977 through 2006 using data from four national surveys. On average, children reach for cookies, chips and other treats about three times a day, consuming nearly 600 daily calories from snacks. That’s an increase of 168 snack calories compared with what children ate in the late 1970s.
Here's the study - http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/29/3/398.fullNationally representative surveys of food intake in U.S. children show large increases in snacking between the 1989–91 to 1994–98 and 1994–98 to 2003–06 periods. Childhood snacking trends are moving toward three snacks per day, and more than 27 percent of children’s daily calories are coming from snacks. The largest increases have been in salty snacks and candy. Desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks.
There has been little systematic examination of recent eating patterns and longer-term trends, including those for childhood snacking. The rise of childhood obesity coincides with a reported increase in daily snacking and a decline in the consumption of three principal meals. Population-based studies show increased food consumption related to the snacking habit.1,2 More frequent snacking has been positively associated with body weight in children.1 Other epidemiological and intervention studies in children and adolescents have linked a more even distribution of food consumed throughout the day with lower body mass index (BMI).1,3,4 Most cross-sectional studies, after adjusting for body weight, have found that obese children do not eat more than lean children.5
Snacks are readily available to all children and adolescents in several environments,6 and energy-dense snacks have been linked with a decreased satiating (feeling of fullness) effect7,8 Greater intake of salty snacks and sweetened caloric beverages and increased portion sizes of snacks have been observed as potential contributors to daily food consumption.9,10 Consequently, these may play an important role in childhood obesity. This study is focused on more recent dynamics of snacking in all of its dimensions.
In this study, current snacking patterns and key foods consumed during childhood were examined along with long-term trends in snacking behavior across four nationally representative surveys of food intake in U.S. children over the past three decades. Among our most important findings is an increase in the number of snacking events in the past decade. The largest increases in snacking events have been in salty snack and candy consumption; however, desserts and sweetened beverages remain the major sources of calories from snacks.1 -
If this were about adults the majority would say so long as you are within your calories it doesn't matter how many times you eat a day.
So so long as the snacks are healthy (or in moderation if not) why does it matter how often kids are snacking? If you dont want your kids not to, don't let them.
My daughter is two so I pack a banana or baby carrots if we are going to be out longer than she is used to around meal time (say we're out past lunch,) if we go to the park in the summer I might bring watermelon or pack a lunch.
If she is hungry enough to eat carrots or a boiled egg then she needed it, she knows her body needs more than I do.
As for the school, I have friends who sent letters into the teachers to let them know they didn't want their kids eating sugary things if provided.
As for us we had a lot of snacks. I grew up obese however my sister did not. She snacked on one cookie to my five or fruit to my cookies and fruit. As an adult I might have a mid afternoon snack or a post workout snack if I feel I need it but I tend to like to have more calories at dinner.
Snack or not, do you.1 -
Unless I'm reading them wrong, the top link says that kids don't snack more but take in more calories per snack and the bottom says it's both?0
-
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/downloads/calreqtips.pdf
Calories Needed Each Day for Boys and Men
Age Not Active Somewhat Active Very Active
2–3 years 1,000–1,200 calories 1,000–1,400 calories 1,000–1,400 calories
4–8 years 1,200–1,400 calories 1,400–1,600 calories 1,600–2,000 calories
9–13 years 1,600–2,000 calories 1,800–2,200 calories 2,000–2,600 calories
14–18 years 2,000–2,400 calories 2,400–2,800 calories 2,800–3,200 calories
Calories Needed Each Day for Girls and Women
Age Not Active Somewhat Active Very Active
2–3 years 1,000 calories 1,000–1,200 calories 1,000–1,400 calories
4–8 years 1,200–1,400 calories 1,400–1,600 calories 1,400–1,800 calories
9–13 years 1,400–1,600 calories 1,600–2,000 calories 1,800–2,200 calories
14–18 years 1,800 calories 2,000 calories 2,400 calories1 -
Sorry-- lost the table format when C&P'd.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 415 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions