A family pack of chocolate biscuits isn’t the best choice for a toddler’s daily snack. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends foods from the Wheel of Five, such as fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread. If you give your child chocolate biscuits occasionally, decide on the amount in advance rather than relying on the pack size. Also check the current allergen information and, if you’re packing biscuits for your child, the rules at their childcare setting or school.
If biscuits are becoming a regular snack, start by choosing a suitable everyday option. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends foods from the Wheel of Five for young children and toddlers, such as fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread.
You can keep a large pack in the cupboard without handing out a whole bag or individually wrapped portion at once. Check the nutritional information for the amount you actually give your child.
If you’re packing a snack for childcare, a playgroup or school, check the current label and the setting’s rules. Check the allergens before packing anything, and ask about its snack policy.
First decide whether you’re looking for an everyday snack or an occasional biscuit treat. Then consider the pack size, how much you’ll serve at a time and what the label says.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday snack | Is this snack intended for every day? If so, also compare it with foods from the Wheel of Five, such as fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread. | If I want to pack or offer something every day, I don’t want biscuits to become the regular choice. Around 50% of consumers prioritise a suitable everyday snack. |
| Amount per serving | Check the nutritional information per biscuit or portion and work out the values for the amount you actually plan to give. Don’t automatically treat a bag of several biscuits as one portion. | For an occasional biscuit treat, I want to choose how much my child has, even if the pack is larger. Around 33% of consumers put portion control first. |
| Allergens and rules away from home | Check the allergens and warnings on the physical pack. If you’re packing a snack, ask about the childcare setting or school’s snack and allergen rules. | When I pack something for my child, it needs to meet the allergy requirements and rules at that setting. Around 17% of consumers say this is their first selection criterion. |
The total pack weight doesn’t tell you how much a toddler will have at a time. Even an individual bag can contain several biscuits.
Decide in advance how many you want to give your child, then use the nutritional information for that exact amount.
Those words alone don’t tell you how many biscuits are in a bag or what the nutritional value is for the amount you’re giving your child.
Check the number of biscuits, the portion size and the nutritional information on the pack.
Allergens vary between products and varieties. Albert Heijn lists Verkade Tops chocolate as containing, among other things, cereals containing gluten, egg, milk and soya.
Read the label on the pack you’re buying and, if you’re packing biscuits for your child, check the childcare setting or school’s rules.
Verkade Tops chocolate is one chocolate biscuit you can compare for portion size and allergens. The 100 g pack described by Albert Heijn isn’t confirmed to be a family pack.
The chocolate speculoos variety described by Jumbo shows why the number of biscuits in each bag matters.
With this own-brand range of chocolate biscuits, the exact variety matters more than the brand name alone.
Jumbo Chocolate Cookies with dark chocolate pieces are a useful example if you want to distinguish between pack weight and the stated portions.
This family pack of chocolate cream biscuits is suitable for keeping in the cupboard for occasional biscuit treats, with an adult deciding how many to serve. It isn’t intended as an everyday snack for a toddler.
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For an occasional biscuit treat when you decide in advance how many to serve.
Check the current pack for the nutritional information for that amount and for allergen details before giving or packing the product.
Not as the preferred everyday choice: the Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends foods from the Wheel of Five for young children and toddlers, such as fruit, vegetables or wholemeal bread. A larger pack doesn’t change that.
Use the amount you actually plan to give your child. If the nutritional information is given per 100 g or for a bag containing several biscuits, it doesn’t automatically tell you the nutritional value of one biscuit.
Check the allergens on the current pack and ask the childcare setting or school about its snack and allergen rules. A product your child eats at home won’t necessarily be allowed under a setting’s rules.
