Now that school’s out, a lot of teens will be at home. That means parents need to stock their fridge filled with food so they don’t get hungry. A new report that could cost them a lot of money.
A new survey by Farm Rich finds that the average parent will spend $51,790 to feed their hungry teenager, with parents of kids between of 13 and 19 saying the typical cost to feed one teenager is about $142 a week. What’s more, a third of parents describe their teens as a “bottomless pit,” with 75% saying they don’t know how their teen eats as much as they do.
And it’s not just costing them money; it’s costing them time, too. Parents say they spend an average of one hour and 33 minutes per week planning, buying and preparing food. That will increase 25% over the summer. They also make three trips to the grocery store each week to keep up with their teens’ food demands.
As for why parents make so much of an effort, it seems none of them want to deal with a hangry kid, because the moods are just too difficult to deal with. In fact, 57% of parents say their teen is “quick to grumble” about what they have in the house to eat, and it takes only four and a half minutes for a teen to get annoyed if they don’t find something they want. Parents also say their teen will ask, “What’s for dinner?” about five times a week while they’ll also complain, “There’s nothing to eat in the house” about three times a week.
ONE MORE THING! As for what foods teens eat the most at home, topping the list is pizza, which is surprisingly followed by fruits and vegetables.
Top 10 Foods Teens Devour Most at Home
1. Pizza
2. Fruit/Vegetables
3. Cereal
4. Ice Cream
5. Potato Chips
6. Chicken Fingers/Strips/Nuggets
7. Mac & Cheese
8. Spaghetti
9. French Fries
10. Pancakes/Waffles
Source: Yahoo Finance