Great Backyard Snacks for Children

Each summer, a large number of children participate in outdoor activities. While many children end up spending their summer at a camp, there are others who stay right in their own backyard. Whether your child is only five years old or fifteen, you will have to find activities that will keep them occupied outdoors, throughout the summer.  

If you are interested in planning your child’s summer activities, you are in luck. There are literally an unlimited number of backyard activities that your child, their siblings, or their friends could participate in. Popular summer activities include swimming, playing outdoor sports, playing water games, or relaxing outdoors.  There is a good chance that your child will enjoy participating in one or more of these summertime activities.

While it is important to plan your child’s summer activities, it is also important to think about what they will be eating.  Unfortunately, summer is when most children resort to unhealthy eating habits.  What is even worse about unhealthy summertime eating is that it is the worse possible time to eat unhealthy.  In hot weather, it is easy to become dehydrated. Despite what many individuals believe, caffeinated beverages and sugar drinks do not help to quench thirst. In fact, many sugary drinks will still leave you thirsty.

When it comes to drinks, the choice perfect would be water. Water is important during the summertime, especially when it is warm outside.  Even though water is good for the body, there are children who do not like the taste of it. If you are the parent of one of those children, you may want to try experimenting with flavored water. Flavored water is available in a wide variety of different flavors.  In most retail stores, for a reasonable price, you should be able to find water with strawberry, citrus, grape, raspberry, or mixed berry flavors. If even if your child does not like traditional water, there is a good chance that they would enjoy the taste of flavored water.

In addition to drinks, it is also important to think about the food or snacks that your child should have. While enjoying backyard activities, there are many families who decide to have a barbeque. A barbeque is a great idea, but it can require a fairly large amount of time and planning.  If you are unable to plan a barbeque, you may want to consider just having a collection of snacks on hand.  Depending on the type of snacks you choose, you and your child could enjoy a tasty, but healthy treat.

If low-cost snacks are what you are looking for, you should visit local dollar stores or discount stores. Despite what you may think, many of these stores are great places to get amazing deals.  You will find that many discount stores and dollar stores have packages of cookies and bags of chips or pretzels for a reasonable price.  However, it is important to remember that these snacks are not always ideal for a healthy diet. For a healthier alternative, try sugar free cookies or low salt pretzels. 

The above mentioned snacks are ideal not only because they easy to afford, but also because they are convenient.  When your child is done, they can just close the package and then return to what they were doing.  If you and your child are able to take a few minutes out of the day, fruits and vegetables make for tasty, but healthy snacks. In fact, there are also a number of different dips that you can use.  Low fat vegetable dip and peanut butter are tasty toppings for many fruits and vegetables. 

As previously mentioned, it is important to stay hydrated in the summer. Regardless of which foods and drinks you provide for your child’s next backyard adventure, it is important that they stay hydrated and full.  Not only will promoting healthy eating habits ensure that your child eats right, but it may also help to make their backyard outings more pleasant.

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