• All 7 families allowed their children to eat “bars” (a category we defined to include “milk and cereal bars”, “granola bars”, and “health/diet/protein bars”).
• Only 2 of the families gave their children health/diet/protein bars. The reasons both families gave was that these bars were “healthier”.
• 5 of the 7 families said they regularly bought only 1 flavor, and all 5 of those included chocolate in some form.
• All 7 families said they would allow their child to have one bar a day if the children so desired.
• 6 of the 7 families said they would NOT allow their child to have one chocolate bar a day if the children so desired.
• 2 of the 7 families said that they considered a peanut bar such as Payday to be a healthy alternative.

There is surprisingly little advertising for “bars” on television. The popularity of the bars seems to come from word of mouth or print advertisements directed at adults, touting the nutritional aspects.

The fact remains, however, that the bars are far less healthy than most adults believe.

What were your experiences with and feelings with bars as snacks and meal substitutes?  Please share your thoughts below.

You see, my wife had bought juicy, deli franks. The ones with the sausage like casings. And as the dogs heated up on the grill, they made a little squeaking/hissing sound.

My daughter was in tears, “they’re screaming, Daddy!” she sobbed. And how could i make them stop? Poke a hole in it? Lift them off the flame?

The kids know hot dogs are meat and technically not “dogs” but they don’t understand the whole processed food. And to see them “plump when you cook ‘em” and to make a noise as the pressure burst the casing was just too much.

They obviously didn’t eat any hot dogs (I wonder if they ever will again), but did come back out and join us.

I attempted to explain what they had witnessed by heating a “steam in the bag” vegetable pack in the microwave, but I’m not sure it took.

We’ll see. But one thing’s for sure. We won’t be having hot dogs this weekend.

All things being equal, we lean toward the “healthy” looking variations – Simply Jif, for example. Lately we’ve been buying Jif with Omega-3 added.

We do it, because we feel like we should, but to be honest… I’m not so sure we’re doing the right thing.

The value of buying this product is debated by various sites. This one in particular outlines just how “not so good” the omega-3 enriched peanut butter is.

My main goal is to get my kids to realize that there are various degrees of healthy foods.  That some food choices are wiser than others. We talk about misleading advertising all the time, so at some point I will get into whether this is really that good of a product. But for now, I’m happy to have them thinking that the green jar of peanut butter is the healthy one because it has that extra oil in it. (do they have to declare it’s fish oil right on the label? geez!)

Whether that particular ingredient really does make the food better for you is something we can discuss as they get older. Similarly, we can talk about the moral aspects of misleading people and what parts of the pitch make it so alluring. I know that it’s not as good as advertised, but I’m using them just as they are using me in a way… I’m using the advertising to begin (just lay the groundwork, I’m saying) to educate my kids on healthy eating.

In the meantime, I’m trying to stay aware that in many ways I’m just loading them up with sugar saturated peanut butter flavored icing.

• 10 of the 12 children believed a 20 ounce soda bottle was “one serving” (the nutrition label says a serving of soda is 8 ounces, so the bottle contains 2.5 servings)
• 6 of the 12 children reported having gotten a 10-piece order of Chicken Nuggets from Mc Donalds and eaten the whole box by themselves.
• Presented with three differently sized bowls of cereal, 11 of the 12 children could not identify the bowl with 1 serving according to the nutrition label on the box.
• Presented with three differently sized glasses of orange juice, 9 of the 12 children could not identify the glass with 1 serving according to the nutrition label on the carton.
• Presented with two 8-ounce glasses (one tall and skinny, the other short and fat) 8 of the 12 children incorrectly believed the glasses held different amounts of liquid.
• 9 of the 12 children reported being told to eat until you “clean your plate” at least twice in the last week.
• 4 of the 12 children did not know serving size information was on packages.
• Asked how many pancakes consistuted “one serving” the 12 children gave answers ranging from 1 – 5, and no child mentioned the size of the pancakes as a factor in the definiton of a serving.

Nutrition labels are not the most practical when it comes to defining serving sizes, but it is clear from our study that most children (and their families) are not up to managing serving sizes on their own.

We believe retailers should revise the food labels to reflect real world servings, but that families should also be more cognizant of how far they stray from nutritional guidelines and how inconsistent their portioning is.

What are your experiences with food serving sizes, at home or dining out? Please share your thoughts below.

• Only 2 of the 13 children could name more than three types of apples
• Only 4 of the 13 children had ever heard a discussion of whether a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable
• None of the 13 children had ever attempted to crack open a coconut
• Only 3 of the 13 children had ever used a melon baller
• While 10 of the 13 children reported having eaten or drank “kiwi-flavored” foods, only 1 of the 13 had ever eaten a kiwi
• 5 of the 13 children believed “pina colada” was a type of fruit
• Only 4 of the 13 children had ever seen a a citrus fruit tree with fruit on it
• Only 5 of the 13 children had ever picked strawberries
• Only 2 of the 13 children had ever tried grapefruit
• 5 of the 13 children believed “most raspberries are blue”, and 1 of those 5 believed “‘blueberry’ is another name for a raspberry”
• None of the 13 children had ever seen a peach tree

Admittedly, some of these results are influenced by age and geographic location: a 6-year-old growing up in Vermont is not going to see many lemon trees. However, as we try to get our children to eat healthier, it seems foolish to not better inform kids about fruit.

Perhaps a fourth-grade class would be better served going on a field trip to the local “pick your own strawberry” farm and learning from the farm owners than taking a trip to the local museum or amusement park.

What are your experiences with children and their knowledge of and exposure to fruits and vegetables?  Please share your thoughts below.