Most people that have kids will tell you that they’ve had to “deal” with their child’s eating habits and aversion to vegetables while trying to promote vegetables as a healthy food. It’s true that here’s something about veggies that just makes most kids not want to eat them (well, at least at their own will and initiative). So here we are, positioning vegetables in a certain way, matching colors or making flowers out of peppers and cucumbers. I’m sure it sounds familiar.
While your kid will definitely enjoy having you come up with brilliant ideas, there’s also more efficient ways of introducing healthy eating habits, experts say. According to a research recently published in “Nutrition and Dietetics”, multimedia aids that explain about healthy food and active use of role models help achieve better results at persuading children to consume more fruit and vegetables.
The research subsidized by Mahidol University in Bangkok took 8 weeks and involved 26 kindergarten children aged 4 and 5. The researchers had kids planting vegetable seeds, taking part in fruit and veggie tasting parties, helping prepare veggie soup and watching Popeye cartoons. Teachers sat with kids at lunch hours and ate fruit and vegetables, thus giving them a good example. Parents were also encouraged to try this kind of involvement at home.
Because the researchers recorded fruit and vegetable intake before and after the research, they had an opportunity to track changes and progress. According to the lead researcher – Professor Chutima Sirikulchayanonta – her team recorded that veggie intake doubled in the course of the research. The variety also increased: children chose to eat more than 2 varieties of vegetables. As a result of the study parents reported changes as well: kids spoke about their achievements with veggies at home and tended to eat more of them.
The research also highlights that:
- Sitting next to children and eating the same foods as them makes children feel special
- ‘Tasting’ parties are an enjoyable way for children to compare tastes of fruit and vegetables
- Involving children in food preparation activities, like measuring, pouring and stirring helps them learn the names and colours of foods, and develops their hand-eye coordination.
Feel free to read more about the study here .