With best intentions in mind, most moms pack their children's lunches with wholesome snacks. But what those same moms don't realize is that 50 percent of kids are either throwing those snacks away or giving them to a friend, according to the "Great Lunchbox Treat" survey of some 300 kids ages 8-12 and their moms, commissioned by Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats and conducted via Weekly Reader Research's Insiders survey panel. And, if the kids do ditch their snack, they are not likely to fess up (53 percent) and only 20 percent bring unwanted snacks back home.
Other findings of the survey include:
-- More than half (54 percent) of kids want snacks that are tasty and sweet.
-- Nearly 100 percent of moms say that they are most concerned about choosing snacks that their kids like (99 percent), are easy to eat (98 percent) and are nutritious (97 percent).
-- Only 30 percent of kids actually eat the snacks their moms pack in their lunchboxes.
-- Moms face a difficult challenge in selecting a wholesome snack that their kids will actually eat. More than 60 percent (63 percent) of moms feel they have to bargain with their children when it comes to choosing snacks for their lunchbox.
Those results don't surprise me. I live a block away from a grade school and can look out my window and watch the kids going out after lunch. A long line forms as kids cross the street to our local Walgreen's. What do they buy? You guessed it; candy, chips and soda, all the things they can't get at school or in their lunchbox.