Do you find the school pick up one of the most stressful times of the day? Do you have an irritable and argumentative child in tow? If so, you are not alone.
Parenting on Female First
New research has shown that 45% of parents find the school pick up to be one of the most stressful points in the day and believe their hungry child is a major part of the problem.
The research, which has been commissioned by Soreen, found that the average school pick up of fifteen minutes is being made longer by their hungry child.
The study found that 14.48 is the time of day when kids feel their most hungry and by the time the bell rings at 15.20, parents agree that their children are often irritable, argumentative, and desperate for a snack.
Hunger pangs have been proven to significantly increase feelings of irritation and anger and the survey found that boys aged between four and 12, often suffer the most.
When kids feel 'hangry' parents admit that they can become argumentative (30%), irritable (22%) and short fused (17.5%).
Most parents have to take snacks for the journey home after school to stop their kids suffering from 'hanger' and one in three parents say that these often consist of sugary and fatty treats such as chocolate, sweets and crisps. If they forget a snack parents admit to feeling worried, stressed and apprehensive about the consequences.
These snack choices give children a sudden surge of sugar that will be short lived and are renowned for offering little nutritional value.
This may go some way to explain why a quarter of parents feel they have to give their children more than one snack to satisfy them, potentially jeopardising their next meal.
An alternative option for parents struggling to find a snack that keeps their children satisfied would be to offer a snack of substance such as malt loaf. Soreen produce convenient and individually wrapped Lunchbox Loaves that can help stave off hunger on the journey home.
Mary Lynch, registered Nutritionist, explains: "It's great to have snacks as part of a healthy balanced diet that are easy to pop in your handbag, such as apple slices, raisins, popcorn or malt loaf that contains far less sugar than sweets and chocolate."
Research courtesy of Soreen.
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