The 6 Worst Foods to Feed Your Children

There’s no breakfast option that offers both nutrition and convenience for families better than cereal… But only the right kinds of cereal do this. As a parent, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with the many options on the shelves – and it’s understandable to get caught up in labels screaming ‘lots of vitamins and minerals’. But you need to consider the amount of sugar and processed ingredients in each serving.

Instead, opt for cereal that has at least 3 grams of fibre per serving, and less than 10 grams of sugar. And in fact, the best kind is oatmeal; it’s high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and you can add some fruit or honey to sweeten the taste.

There’s no arguing that giving your kid a granola bar to chomp on as a snack is an easy option, but you might be shocked to learn exactly why this one’s in this list. Many granola bars that are marketed towards kids lack nutritional value, as they’re loaded with sugars and added ingredients like chocolate chips, marshmallows, high fructose syrup and artificial dyes.

As an alternative, try whipping up your own batch of homemade energy bars that have natural ingredients in like peanut butter, almond, raisins, whole grain cereal, dried fruits and nuts.

Arguably a staple part of any child’s lunchbox, luncheon meats like smoked ham or turkey, or even roast beef, can potentially be packed with very dangerous and toxic food. Next time you go to the store to pick up a pack of already-sliced meats, double check the packaging – many contain nitrates, which is a preservative in food processing that can increase the risk of heart disease and cancer.

Although handy to give to your child to quench their thirst while out and about, a juice box or carton don’t pack any nutritional value whatsoever for your child. They’re packed with sugar, and lack fibre and vitamins and are generally void of any real juice.

Instead, why not blend up a batch of fruit smoothies that have whole fruits, yogurt and ice in to offer as a drink or snack instead

Not all crackers are unhealthy – there are those on the shelves in your grocery store that are made with fibrous whole grains, which are great. But be cautious about picking up the wrong pack; as you might find you’re feeding your child a small snack that has processed, white flour, preservatives and unhealthy oils in.

While it might have strawberry or apple on the wrapper, fruit-based snacks are likely to not contain any real fruit at all. In fact, most fruit-based snacks like fruit rolls are just sweets masked with a healthy label.

To prevent your child eating these, simply pack real fruit and fibre to their meals in the form of dried whole fruit – like raisins, or apricots – or even grapes, berries and apples and pears. Easy!