For breakfast while I am away, the kids might eat frozen waffles or pancakes, toast, Pop Tarts, cereal, or some other form of quick breakfasts. If not, they may get breakfast at school, which would be similar. Many of these foods are heavily processed. They can be high in sugar, fat, sodium, and preservatives that can have adverse health effects. |
An after-school snack might be granola bars, chips, cookies, candy, yogurt or fruit. These snacks may be accompanied by juice or soda. This would be left up to the kids to decide what and how much they will eat. My older child might be more likely to eat out after school with their friends. This could be at corner stores or fast food places. There is a lot of potential for unhealthy after school options. It is dependent on what is available. |
If I were home to make dinner, it is likely that I will search for a quick meal. This means something frozen or boxed that is likely to be high in fat, sodium, and maybe sugar. This could take the form of burgers, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, etc. On nights when I have more time, I might make some sort of meat and sides of vegetables. |
I spoke with a 15 year old high school student who is frequently unsupervised before and after school due to his parents' work schedules. I will keep his identity anonymous. I asked him about his eating habits and typical meals. He explained that he often skips breakfast even though he has the time to eat at home and at school. He eats the school lunch if it is something he wants, so it just depends on the day. After school, he might go out with his friends to Wawa, Subway, McDonald's, or Chick-fil-A. If not, he goes home and eats a few snacks since dinner is still a couple of hours away. These snacks might be chips, yogurt, cookies, or juice. By the time dinner comes around at 6 or 7, he eats whatever his mom makes. However, she is usually exhausted by this time because she wakes up at 4 in the morning. This means dinner is usually whatever she can throw together - usually meat and canned vegetables. He expressed it is not always appetizing, and he really does not care for the vegetables, so his dinner is usually only meat.
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