I guess I'll be a little controversial and say that the primary reason I would be hesitant to feed Balance bars to kids as a snack is that it creates a "dependency" upon them as a snack. Ultimately, (and I'm making an assumption here which may or may not be true), I suspect your kids like the Balance bars because they have the feel of a candy bar (it's long like a candy bar and wrapped like a candy bar, and probably tastes like a candy bar). This, on the one hand, makes it easy to get them to eat; and makes them feel as if they're not missing out on the candy bar experience (which, if you're a child, is the difference between the end of world and whatever "not the end of the world" is). However, in essence, you're teaching them that a Balance bar is OK as a food choice. And since it's OK as a snack, it can be equated to being OK to as much of them as they want (kinda like how people see those packages of baby carrots).
It's up for debate as to how much variety is really necessary in one's diet for "health" and the importance of whole foods, but (and I'm speaking on an extreme edge here) kids who eat meal bars for snacks don't necessarily learn anything more about healthy snack/food choices than the kids who are eating junk because they're not exactly presented with making a choice between the Balance bar and a thing of yoghurt and a banana. Kids who grow up to be adults who make poor food choices make these choices often because they don't know what other choices are available to them AND they'll always pick what's "safe" as opposed to trying something new. Whether your "safe" is a Big Mac or a Balance bar, you're still going to go for the "safe" option.
Sure, the bars are nutritionally balanced and a better altnerative than candy, but similarly, they're highly processed food products and it's somewhat debateable as to exactly how much of a better altnerative they actually might be than candy bars--not to mention that they're not cheap either. A good analogy to this might be the whole "It's better to eat granola bars than candy" debate. Bars can be good alternatives to whole foods when whole foods aren't readily available. In my opinion, they should be used with this intent in mind--as opposed to being one's first choice of food, despite the availability of other alternatives.
I will admit that this "hesitation" is more about teaching children how to make good food choices rather than the pure "health" benefit of the Balance bar, but as a fitness community, we strive teach others how to make these sorts of decisions. If kids are exposed to, "You can have some cottage cheese and some fruit; or this Johnka granola bar and some milk; or half a chicken breast and some carrots." then they grow up thinking that making healthy food choices is normal and that people who don't like cottage cheese are freaks. I mean, how do you think chinese kids eat squid without thinking twice? And it's not even deep fried.
I will disclaim myself at this point and say that I am by no means trying to criticize the way JP is bringing up his children. I'm unmarried, single, and have no children and hence, am blissfully unaware of the complexities of rearing children. This is my own judgemental opinion.
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