When I was a kid, I was all about chocolate.

As I’ve gotten older, not much has changed. My general snacking taste veers closer to the salty side of things (chips and dip will literally be the death of me), but if I’m having dessert? GIVE ME CHOCOLATE OR GIVE ME DEATH. (Seriously. If you bring a pie to my dinner party, don’t even get out of the car. I DON’T DO FRUIT-BASED DESSERT.)

Detective Munch is different. He loves candy! Don’t get me wrong, he loves chips too, like Daddy, but when it comes to dessert, he’s much more apt to choose sugary candy over delicious chocolate. At least, he was…

Remember Teddy Grahams? The little bear-shaped graham crackers that came in a bunch of flavors? I used to love Teddy Grahams!

Remember the commercials, in which they Weird Al’d the Elvis tune “Teddy Bear” to say “Teddy Grahams”? I loved those too! Oh, you don’t remember them? Allow me to make sure you don’t forget them for at least the next 12 hours with this link.

Okay, now sit down. Are you sitting? Good.

I recently discovered that Teddy Grahams are still around! And, just like Elvis, they’ve aged into their jiggly phase! Which is to say there’s a new kind of Teddy Grahams, called Teddy Soft Bakes, that are doughy and loaded with delicious filling. But, instead of Elvis’s favorite flavor (peanut butter and banana), the new Teddy Soft Bakes are stuffed with chocolate- and vanilla-flavored filling (not that any self-respecting person would prefer the vanilla).

They sent me a few boxes to try, and I don’t know if it’s the gooey filling or the fact that he enjoys pretending to eat bears to death, but my chocolate-averse 6-year-old can’t get enough of them! Which is fine with me. For one thing, I’m glad he’s eating something. For another, when his mouth is full it’s usually (but not always) shut, which is a huge plus. And finally, Teddy Soft Bakes are fairly wholesome! So not only is he eating and being quiet, he’s also not eating terribly!

When you first become a parent, you’re determined to make sure your kids eat right. You’re going to cook healthy meals, you’re going to completely ban fast food, and you’re going to limit snacks. Proper nutrition is everything!

Then parenting happens.

The next thing you know, you’re a few years in, maybe on a second or third kid, and you’re happily handing your toddler a pile of ketchup packets in the hopes that he’ll keep his mouth shut and swallow something. Reality has a way of reorganizing your priorities. Convenience becomes paramount. Snacks are king.

Snacks have always been important to me (I could live on snacks, so long as you relax your definition of the word “live.”) But they reach a whole new level when you have kids.

Taking your kids places requires requisitions, and after you’ve packed diapers and wipes and a change of clothes and hand sanitizer and some toys, you had better throw some snacks in there. A wide variety of them. Because it’s impossible to predict what your kid will want at any given time. So you bring the entire contents of your pantry.

Which is why I love it when I find a snack my son enjoys, especially one that I don’t have to feel too guilty about. It’s like found money.

And it’s even better if that snack is chocolate, and makes me think of a hilarious commercial from my youth! And to be completely honest, I enjoy watching my son rip bear heads off. Sue me.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go watch that commercial again. Fifty straight times.

Disclosure: I’m sharing Teddy Soft Bakes in my life as part of a sponsored series for Socialstars™ #myfirstTeddy #discoverTeddy