For everyday toddler snack time, choose from the options the NHS suggests for young children, such as fruit, plain unsweetened yoghurt, toast or unsalted rice cakes, rather than making flavoured crisps the default. If you offer crisps occasionally, check the salt and fat for the portion you intend to serve and read the ingredients and allergen information for that exact flavour; terms such as “baked” or “lightly salted” do not answer those questions on their own.
The choice changes depending on whether you are planning an everyday snack, offering crisps occasionally or checking a food allergy.
The NHS suggests fruit, plain unsweetened yoghurt, vegetable sticks with hummus, toast and unsalted rice cakes among its snack ideas for young children. These give you options when you do not want crisps to become the routine choice.
Check the nutrition declaration for the flavour and pack you intend to serve. Pack sizes differ, so a per-pack figure and a per-100g figure answer different questions.
Seasonings and precautionary allergen statements can differ between flavours, even within one brand. Read the current label of the specific pack before offering it to a child with an allergy or dietary exclusion.
Decide first whether this is an everyday snack or an occasional crisp portion. If it is crisps, compare the serving you will offer before relying on claims on the front of the pack.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday snack | Consider the NHS snack ideas for young children, including fruit, plain unsweetened yoghurt, toast and unsalted rice cakes. Prepare food in a form appropriate for the child. | I am choosing something for regular snack time, rather than making crisps the usual choice. |
| Salt and fat | Read salt and fat per 100g, then check the amount in the pack or portion you will serve. Compare like-for-like figures: Walkers UK lists 0.19g salt per 22g pack for Oven Baked Sea Salt, while Tyrrells lists 0.60g per 30g serving for Sour Cream & Onion Lentil Crisps. | For an occasional crisp snack, I want to know what the actual portion contains, not just what “baked” or “lightly salted” suggests. |
| Flavour and allergens | Read the ingredients and any may-contain statement on the exact flavour. Tyrrells lists milk ingredients in its Sour Cream & Onion Lentil Crisps; McCoy's lists barley malt vinegar in Salt & Malt Vinegar. | A flavour needs to fit the child's allergies or dietary exclusions; another variety from the same brand is not a substitute for checking its label. |
“Sea salt”, “lightly salted” and “baked” do not tell you the salt and fat in the portion you will serve. Manufacturer declarations differ between products and pack sizes.
Compare the nutrition panels on the same per-100g basis, then check the figures for the intended portion.
Seasonings can introduce ingredients absent from another variety. Tyrrells lists milk ingredients in its Sour Cream & Onion Lentil Crisps, while McCoy's lists barley malt vinegar in Salt & Malt Vinegar.
Check the current ingredients and precautionary allergen statement for the precise flavour and pack.
Relying on crisps each day leaves less room at snack time for the varied options the NHS suggests for young children.
Use options such as fruit, plain unsweetened yoghurt, toast or unsalted rice cakes for everyday snack time, and treat crisps as an occasional choice.
These examples show why the exact variety matters; figures for one flavour should not be applied to a whole brand.
Walkers offers lightly salted and oven-baked varieties alongside its other crisps.
The range includes potato crisps and flavoured lentil crisps.
The range includes Lightly Salted and seasoned potato crisps.
Seabrook offers sea-salted and flavoured crinkle-cut crisps.
The range includes salted, vinegar and other seasoned potato crisps.
The range includes Sea Salt and more heavily seasoned varieties.
These products include crisps to consider for an occasional snack and one lentil-cake alternative. For each, check the current pack's nutrition and allergen information before deciding what to serve.
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A lentil-cake option if you want something other than potato crisps. This is a 100g pack; check its current nutrition panel, ingredients and allergen statement before serving.
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The 13g individual packs give you a stated pack size for an occasional portion. Check the salt and fat per pack, along with the current ingredients and allergen statement.
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This variety pack contains six 22g bags. If selecting one as an occasional snack, compare the nutrition and allergen information for the particular flavour rather than applying one variety's figures to every bag.
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These flavoured crisps come as six 22g bags. Check salt and fat for the bag, and read the cheese-and-onion flavour's current ingredients and allergen statement before serving.
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This is a 130g sharing bag, so decide on the portion rather than treating the whole pack as one serving. KETTLE Chips lists 0.7g salt and 29.5g fat per 100g for Lightly Salted; check the current pack for serving and allergen information.
Choose from the NHS snack ideas for young children for routine snack time instead. These include fruit, plain unsweetened yoghurt, vegetable sticks with hummus, toast and unsalted rice cakes. Crisps can be an occasional choice, with the portion and label checked first.
No. Read the nutrition declaration for the exact product and pack size. Walkers UK lists 0.19g salt per 22g pack of Oven Baked Sea Salt, while Seabrook lists 0.4g per 31.8g bag of Sea Salted; those figures describe different products and portions.
Check the current ingredients and any may-contain statement for the exact flavour. Tyrrells Sour Cream & Onion Lentil Crisps contain milk ingredients and may contain soya and gluten; McCoy's Salt & Malt Vinegar contains barley malt vinegar and may contain milk, soya, gluten and mustard.
No. The NHS says children under one should not be given snacks. This article concerns snack choices for toddlers past their first birthday.