smiling boy with open book on his head being tempted by snacks in front of him

Shutterstock.com; student photos courtesy of families

Should It Always Be Snack Time in School?

August 30, 2021

Millions of kids spent much of last school year learning at home. They also spent a lot of time snacking.

The Department of Child and Family Science at California State University in Fresno recently did a study. They learned that families snacked much more during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Now that kids are back in school, they might miss the freedom to grab an apple or chips whenever they’d like. But some health experts say that too much snacking can be unhealthy.

Should kids be allowed to have snacks at school whenever they want?

Yes. Students should be able to snack whenever they’re hungry. Being hungry distracts kids from learning. Also, sometimes kids get pulled out of class during snack time for extra help or other activities. Those kids should be allowed to eat when they get back. But it’s important for snacks to be healthy ones! Kids need to build their bodies and their brains.

No, I don’t think kids should be allowed to snack whenever they want in class. Most students didn’t do that before the pandemic. It isn’t a good habit to continue. School should be a place where you focus, work, eat lunch, and then do more work. It shouldn’t be a place where snacking comes first and learning comes second.