Ask:
This was by far the most difficult task this week. I don’t usually talk to my roommates, let alone people I’ve never met. In the end I was able to find a few people through the grape vine that have had experience with kids and specifically snacking. Overall, I listened to their experiences and focused on the topic of sugar as an underlying theme. Diabetes is an a startling issue in America these days, especially in children, and hidden sugar is largely to blame.
For all of my interviews I asked if they could share some memorable snack experiences from being around kids. I also asked what kind of snacks their kids would eat and also that they would eat. I also asked about any times they had experienced messes because of snacks.
Emma: She has volunteered in 1st grade classrooms, a nursery at church, and also used to work at a tennis summer camp for kids):
Why Emma? I chose Emma because she has had a lot of experience with kids has had the opportunity to see kids eat and how they interact with kids.
She talked a lot about the sharing of snacking and social aspects of snacking. “It was interesting how kids would share food: like how if one kid forgot a snack and one of them had more they would share with them.”
She also talked about the importance of portions. In group settings the organizations she was a part of would often give out crackers (goldfish, animal crackers) because, “They were cheap, you could buy them in bulk, and they were very easy to dish out and portion” Kids would complain if someone else got more food than themselves. Having something that was visually more pieces also seemed more intriguing for kids (they felt like they were getting more).
As far as mess goes, she said it’s sort of an issue, especially with smaller crackers (such as goldfish).
Durability was also a factor: many of the kids would bring their snacks in the morning at the camp she was at, and wouldn’t be able to eat them until 4 hours later.
Max: Camp Counselor and Snack lover.
Why Max? Like Emma, I chose Max because he has spent much time with kids and has been around kids when they are eating.
“Snack time in general was a good time”: He talks a lot about how it was a fun time to be social and eat food. As a camp counselor, there was always a lot of packaging to clean up. He also talks about how kids would often have very similar snacks.
“Kids love to share snacks”: some kids would have foods that their parents never let them have, and kids would love to trade snacks and taste others. It’s a time to explore for kids.
I then asked about his own personal experience growing up with snacks
“I still eat a lot of kid snacks” said Max. Max got in trouble in Kindergarten for eating someone else’s snack. This girl told him that her fruit snacks changed color once they were in your mouth. Max tried testing them out with his friend and ended up eating them all. He then got in a lot of trouble. He also mentioned how he had picked up these puff chip things thinking they would be popcorn: the packaging was misleading.
“My mom was the type of mom who was just trying to feed you, you know? So she would usually just buy whatever snacks I wanted.” He talks about how the only time she wouldn’t buy what he wanted was when he was really little and didn’t really know any better.
Dave (Father of 2 year old).
I chose Dave because he is a parent and buys snacks for his child on the regular.
When asked about how he chooses to buy snacks, Dave said he tries to make sure they are healthy, easy to eat, and not messy.
He talks about how yogurt could be very messy for his child to eat, and talks about how she tends to tip over the cups and that Gogurts: “She makes a real mess out of those… she can really handle the screw off top yogurts the best”
He also talks about how he is very conscious about the amount of sugar his child has:
When asked if there were any snacks he wouldn’t buy for his daughter, he says there aren’t really any, “Unless they are just unhealthy… you know, like high sugar stuff. She gets enough sugar from fruit and yogurt, so I try not to buy any overly processed or refined stuff”
Observation:
This task was tricky considering I’m not in an environment with kids. I ended up following my friend Camila through her snack experience and focused specifically on the mess that follows the snack and the sugar content. We had a break in class and she was gonna go get a snack. I came with, and without her knowing watched as she made her decisions.
Before we even enter the food area, Camilla mentions that she is really wanting to get a muffin. She enters the St. Paul Student Center food area, and takes in her surroundings. There was a definite 5 seconds of just standing and looking around. After this she starts walking towards the long line of students waiting to get coffee/donuts. After a second of waiting in line something suddenly catches her attention. She quickly goes over to the refrigerated section and comes back to wait in line with a Mighty Mango Naked smoothie bottle. Once she reaches the selection of donuts, she talks to our friend Emily and asks about sharing a muffin. They then both talk about what kind of muffin. Camila insists on getting the kind that Emily wants (which is blueberry).
Camilla then leaves the St. Paul student center. Her and Emily start eating the muffin while walking. Once in class, I watch as both her and Emily try to eat the muffin without spilling everywhere (they were not very successful). The outside bag was extremely loud along there was a thin paper sheet used to grab the muffin that kept getting in the way and failed a catching any crumbs. The muffin paper that helped give the baked good it’s shape ended up being quite messy and not much of a container for the muffin as well. Crumbs ended up falling out all over the place.
Once class is over, I question Camila on her choice of getting the Naked juice, which was now almost gone. She says she always gets that kind because that is the kind of Naked her dad would always get! She threw away the rest of the juice and went through the rest of her day.
As far as sugar intake goes, I looked at the bottle of Naked Juice: it contained 57 grams of sugar. To put that into perspective, that’s around 14 teaspoons of sugar–a single can of Coca Cola contains 44 grams of sugar. That’s a LOT! An interesting find on a product that many would consider a healthy alternative.
The muffin didn’t have any sort of nutritional information in it, so I really don’t have a specific amount of sugar. Off of estimates, we can assume there are roughly 37grams of sugar in your average blueberry muffin. If Camila only had half a muffin, that would mean about 18more grams of sugar.
Camila’s total consumption of sugar from that snack was 75 grams.
According to the most recent recommendations by the World Health Organization, sugar should only be 5% of your daily consumption, or around 6 teaspoons (25grams) per day. In that single snack, Camila ate 3 times her daily allowance of sugar! This was an interesting look into snacking and the hidden dangers of what can seem like innocent purchases.
Experience:
For this portion of the assignment, I decided to go to Target Express and buy myself a snack since it was 4pm and I was hungry. I strolled around the isles and thought about what I would buy through the lens of a parent. I also took notice to stimulus that a kid would like. I first went down the cookie isle. I knew I would feel gross if I just went home and ate a sleeve of oreos or half a bag of chips so I happily declined though the kid in me really wanted to know what pumpkin flavored oreos would be like. I then went down the cereal isle: this was fine, but I never feel very full after cereal and the ones that I did want were super sugary: as a kid my mom would never let me have those, so the parent in me said no. Health is something that I personally would focus on a lot as a parent, especially sugar intake. I personally find sugar to be incredibly addicting and not something I’d want my kid consuming a bunch of. This is similar to what my mom focused on when we were growing up, along with price, and then quality/taste.
I then came across the produce area. Something about fresh food really appeals to me. I love fruit and/or yogurt, and those were both things that I would buy as snacks for my kids. I then went to the more snack specific case.
Here I found these little packages containing salami, provolone cheese, and bread sticks: three food groups in one, and not incredibly sugary! I grabbed it and then turned around and saw another snack that I would happily eat as a kid or an adult: grapes. I grabbed a bag of grapes as well.
Once home, I opened up my snacks. I thoroughly enjoyed my little pack of meat, cheese, and bread: it reminded me of the Lunchables I used to eat as a kid, but instead of slimey turkey and american singles I had provolone and salami: ‘twas delicious, and only 3 dollars!
In the end my provolone, salami, and breadstick snack pack had only 1 gram of sugar. In comparison, the Lunchable version has 17 grams of sugar a with a cost $2. It is important to not though that the Lunchable had a cookie in the package as well.
The grapes were $4, but I’ll be eating these well into the weekend. One cup of grapes contains about 15grams of sugar.
Storyboard of Experience:
The end!
Insights:
- What you eat as a kid affects what you eat now whether because of nostalgia or habits. (Camila buying naked because of her dad, Max– Quote)
- Sharing is a very important aspect of snacking, both as a kid and as an adult. (Camilla shares her muffin, Emma’s focus on sharing)
- Snacks often have to be able to last through a few hours of waiting before being able to be eaten. (Emma’s kids at tennis camp)
- Allergies are an important factor for teachers and churches choices of snacks. (Emma)
5. Spills happen, and when they do, it’s devastating (I learned this from watching Camila eat the muffin and also hearing from Emma about kids who spilled their snacks and therefore didn’t get anything to eat. Also, Dave and his Daughter)
6. Health is important to a parent. (Personal Experience, Dave)
7. Kids love to trade their Snacks (Max, Emma, Observation of Camila)
8. Adults don’t want kids to share their snacks (in case of allergies– Max)
9. Often new snacks are not what you expect. (Max and him getting puffs instead of popcorn– fruit snacks that don’t change colors)
10. There is a ton of hidden sugar in snacks! (Camila’s Naked Juice)
Problem Statements
Dave, a 33 year old dad needs a way for his daughter to eat yogurt without making a mess because his daughter spills it everywhere.
Camila needs a way to be aware of the sugar she is taking in each day because she took in three times her daily allowance without knowing it.
Kids need a way to share their snacks without actually sharing them because adults are afraid that someone could have an allergic reaction to them.
