Healthy snacks children actually enjoy

If snack time at your house sometimes feels like a tiny battle, you're in very good company. One day they'll eat anything, the next they'll only consider something beige and crunchy. It can be wearing, especially when you're trying to do the right thing on a busy day and a tight budget. The good news is that healthy snacks don't need to be fancy or expensive, and they don't need to start an argument. Here are some gentle ideas that tend to go down well.

Keep it simple and keep it cheap

The snacks children love most are usually the plainest ones. You really don't need special pouches or anything with a cartoon on the box. A bit of variety in colour, shape and texture is what keeps it interesting.

• Apple slices, banana, satsuma segments or a handful of grapes (cut grapes lengthways for little ones)

• Carrot, cucumber or pepper sticks, lovely with a spoon of hummus to dip

• Toast fingers or a plain oatcake with a thin spread of cream cheese

• A small pot of plain yoghurt with a few berries stirred through

• A little cheese with a few crackers

The NHS suggests around two snacks a day is plenty for most young children, sitting between their main meals. Offering water or milk alongside, rather than juice, keeps things easy on little teeth too.

Let them help make it

This is the trick that changes everything. When children have a hand in making a snack, they're far more likely to actually eat it. They feel proud of it, and curious about it.

You can keep their jobs safe and simple. Little ones can wash fruit, tear lettuce, stir, sprinkle or arrange things on a plate. Slightly older children can spread, mash a banana with a fork, or thread soft fruit onto a straw to make a fruit kebab. Building their own face or pattern out of fruit and veg turns a snack into a small project.

It's messier, yes. An apron and an old towel sort most of that out. The mess is part of the fun, and part of the learning.

Go gently with fussy eating

Nearly every child goes through a fussy patch. It's a normal stage, not a sign you're doing anything wrong, and it usually passes with time. The calmer you can stay around it, the easier it tends to be.

A few things that reputable early-years advice points to:

• Offer a new food alongside one you know they like, with no pressure to try it.

• Keep offering. It can take many tries before a child accepts something new, so a no today isn't a no forever.

• Try not to use food as a reward or a punishment. Pudding for finishing greens can quietly teach them that greens are the bad bit.

• Eat together when you can. Children learn loads by copying the grown-ups they love.

If you're ever genuinely worried about how little your child is eating, or about their growth, do have a chat with your GP or health visitor. They're there to help, and it's always worth asking.

Make snack time a happy moment

More than anything, try to take the heat out of it. A relaxed snack at a little table, sat together for a few minutes, does more good than any perfect plate. Some days they'll eat well, some days they'll barely touch it, and both are completely normal.

Good food and happy mealtimes matter a lot to us too. As a Jersey charity, we're not chasing anything except the best possible day for your child. If you'd like to see how mealtimes and play come together for the little ones in our care, do come and find out more about our nursery care.