When it comes to food, Stonyfield Organic, Londonderry, N.H., hopes to bring parents and kids to the table to find common ground. In a survey of kids ages 5-11 and their parents, Stonyfield uncovered that snack time presents a great opportunity to build healthy food habits for all meal times. Both parents and kids say snack time is the easiest food occasion to agree upon, and 75% percent of kids surveyed say they have 2-3 snacks a day.
While it may sometimes feel like kids only want unhealthy foods, the majority are actually open to healthy choices. Although only a quarter of kids said they "love" healthy snacks, it's important to note that 40% said they "like healthy snacks" and only 1% said that healthy snacks are "gross." Kids are savvy about their snacks too. In fact, when shown a list of food items and asked which they considered healthy, the majority of kids did correctly distinguish the healthy choices from the less healthy ones. Most (67%) chose all of the healthy items and did not incorrectly choose any less healthy ones.
While parents (61%) and kids (82%) agree that mom is the primary decision maker when it comes to picking out snacks, they disagree on how big of a role kids should have in this choice. Remarkably, 67% of kids think they should have the power to choose their own snack without the help of an adult.
This research was conducted by Touchstone Research, Inc., Branford, Conn., on behalf of Stonyfield Organic, and surveyed 1,010 parents and 1,010 children 5-11 years old between Jan. 18-24.