Kids' sugar intake soars by 40% during summer holidays

The average British child will ask their parents for snacks at least 11 times per day over summer, and one in six will beg more than 25 times daily.

Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of parents polled feed their children more snacks with refined sugar - like sweets, chocolate bars, ice cream, and cereal bars - than usual during summer holidays.

The survey of 1,002 adults with children between three and 11, in school or nursery with a summer break, was commissioned by children’s snacking brand GoGo squeeZ.

As 53 per cent of respondents said they needed more snack inspiration, the brand partnered with child nutritionist and dietitian Lucy Upton (@childrensdietitian) to provide tips to keep parents going through a summer of snacking.

She said: “Snacking habits often change during the school holidays as typical routines go out of the window, and factors from boredom to increased accessibility to snacks at home or when out may increase.

“As parents in this survey have highlighted, accessibility to nutritious snacks can be a challenge when out and about, and this may be coupled with increasing requests from children for desirable foods.

“Parents are also often juggling childcare with other commitments during the holidays and often tell me they lack time to prepare a range of snacks from scratch.

“I know many parents are desperate for a greater range of snack options that are nutritious but also convenient.”

The research found as many as 93 per cent of parents didn’t know the NHS recommended daily ‘free sugar’ limits for 4-6-year-olds of 19g.

Similarly, only five per cent knew 7-10-year-olds should consume no more than 24g of free sugar per day.

How kids’ summer snacking Spikes

The top reasons revealed for feeding children more snacks with refined sugar were because they’re easier to carry on the go (75 per cent), because they’re more convenient to prepare (73 per cent), and because parents like to give more treats during summer (73 per cent).

Exactly three-quarters of UK parents say they feel stressed about feeding their children nutritious food over the holidays, with 38 per cent worried about feeding children more meals than usual over the summer.

The biggest snack dilemmas facing parents are finding snacks with no added sugar (69 per cent), finding nutritious snacks that appeal to their child (58 per cent) and that their child likes the taste of (56 per cent).

More than half (55 per cent) of parents also said it’s difficult to get their children to eat whole fruit and vegetables at all.

With 49 per cent of parents spending at least 40 minutes in the kitchen preparing meals and snacks for their kids every day – that’s at least 28 hours during the six-week summer break – 41 per cent said they don’t have time to prepare more nutritious snacks.

While 51 per cent of parents said that snacks with refined sugar are the only thing available to purchase while out and about.

The areas where parents find it most difficult to feed their children nutritious snacks were revealed as cinemas (41 per cent), theme parks (37 per cent) and soft play centres (34 per cent).

Lucy Upton, speaking on behalf of GoGo squeez which has tips, hacks and recipes on its Instagram page said: “Being mindful of extra sugar intake really cannot be overlooked.

“Rates of dental decay and tooth extractions in children in the UK are hugely concerning, with data showing nearly 50,000 episodes of extractions in 0-19-year-olds between 2022 and 2031.

“Excess sugar intake can also contribute to increased energy intake and weight gain or impact the consumption of other more nutrient-dense foods.”

Lucy’s top five tips for parents to encourage healthier snacking during the holidays:

Strike a balance - It’s understandable that children consume more of certain foods during the summer break, but setting out clear expectations, such as limiting snacks with higher sugar levels to one a day and having a variety of other balanced options for remaining snack times, can be helpful.

Explore other ways to hit 5-a-day - My favourite quick and easy fruit or vegetable snacks include dried fruit like apple rings, raisins, dates (for children 4-5 years+), frozen fruit blended with yoghurt for a lower sugar ‘ice cream’ and grated veg like cucumber or carrot mixed with cream cheese and loaded on crackers.

Get them involved – To help keep the kids busy and support more nutritious snacking habits, consider tasking children who are old enough with easy-to-prepare snacks such as chopped veggies with hummus, making a yoghurt bark with chopped fruit or a make-your-own trail mix with ingredients like low-sugar dried cereal, smashed up rice cakes, or crackers and dried fruit.

Plan ahead - Consider setting aside 15-20 minutes to plan ahead when going out for the day, packing easy and ready-to-go snack options such as fruit smoothie snacks, oatcakes with hummus, cream cheese or nut butter, breadsticks and small cheese portions, or yoghurt.

Try family snacking - A family snack time, even once or twice a week, is a great opportunity to lead by example, encouraging your kids to explore new foods (or those they normally turn their nose up at), experience a moment of discovery and slow down to eat together. This usually helps them to pay more attention to what’s on offer.