How to Pick a Snack Bar for Kids

Snack bars are a convenient snack for kids, but with so many options, how do you know which ones are best?

For example, some bars have more sugar than a chocolate chip cookie! Yet, they are marketed as “heathy” bars for kids.

So, which kind of bar should you buy for your kids? Snack bars? Granola bars? Protein bars? There really is no better option - a bar is a bar and there will be options that are better for you and your family.

There are 3 key nutrients that I would recommend you focus on when selecting a bar: protein, fat, and sugar (bonus points for fiber).

You’ll want to get familiar with how to read a nutrition label and you can learn more here about a nutrition fact label.

Protein

Protein needs are calculated using your kids weight, and the actual recommended protein needs vary greatly by age. But roughly 13-20 grams of protein per day is recommended for kids age 1-8, and 30-50 grams per day for kids age 9-18 years old.

As a quick rule of thumb, I would divide your kids protein needs by five to account for 3 meals and 2 snacks per day and use that as a rough guide for how much protein they should be getting with each meal and snack.

For example, say you have a 7 year old - on the high end they would need around 20 grams of protein per day divided by 5 means you would want to ensure they have around 4 grams of protein per each meal and snack. That sounds pretty doable, right?

For toddlers, I would consider a bar that contains at least 3 grams of protein a pretty good source. For older kids, I would say anywhere between 7-10 grams of protein is a good source.

Sugar

While no amount of added sugar is recommended before the age of 2, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that kids age 2 and older limit their sugar intake to less than 10% of total daily calories.

For example, if your kid eats around 1,400 calories per day, 10% is 140 calories or 35 grams of sugar per day (140 divided by 4 grams per carb/sugar).

You can use the same shortcut formula we used to calculate protein needs for sugar. 35 divided by 3 meals and 2 snacks per day is 7 grams of sugar. If a bar has 7 grams or less of added sugar, then you can consider that low in sugar based on your kids daily sugar recommendation.

If the bar contains more than 7 grams of sugar per serving, then you would think of this item as more of a treat, similar to a cookie or donut.

You will want to follow the 90/10 guideline we discussed here and handle these treats in this manner.

Remember - this is just an example, you can read more here about how to determine your kids total daily calorie recommendations.

Fat

Fat is an important nutrient for a growing child and should not be limited. The recommendation is to keep fat between 30-35% of calories for children 2-3 years of age and between 25-35% of calories for children and adolescents 4-18 years of age.

The quality of fat matters! Try to focus on polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats and avoid any bars containing trans-fat. Limited amounts of saturated fat are also ok to include and you can read more about the types of fat here.

Again, use the same formula outlined above to calculate your kids recommended daily fat amount and divide that by 5 - that’s a good number to look for in a bar.

Fiber

Bonus for fiber in a snack bar! If your kiddo isn’t a fan of fruits, veggies, and whole grains, then a bar may be helpful to increase their fiber intake. Kids 1-8 years old need 19-25 grams of fiber per day, so that would be 4-5 g per meal or snack.

Finding a bar with a lot of fiber can be challenging, which is why adding a fruit and veggie alongside a bar can make it a balanced snack.

What snack bars do you buy for your family?