According to the Center for Health Study, "In a study conducted by Stanford University, two identical meals, one in a plain wrapper and one in a package from a popular fast food chain were offered to a group of children. Even young children associated a better taste experience with the name-brand selection, suggesting that marketing and expectation have an impact on perceived taste, even in children"
To compound this, an article by TLC reckons,
"Our taste buds introduce us to a particular flavor, but the experience of eating is a packaged deal. If we think we'll like a food, there's a much better chance that we actually will."
What does that mean. Basically, that children are not picky because they are "naturally inclined to be" but because of parenting, media, and peer influence.
 |
| "Please mama broccoli" |
I think we expect too much AND too little from children, when it comes to their diet. A child, given a choice will have 5-7 snacks a day instead of 3 large meals. Hmm 5 small meals a day... where have i heard that before??? oh ya, it's a "breakthrough" in the diet industry. The way that our bodies are designed to eat. It is the absolute best way to get the right amount of nutrition without over eating. That is what our kids naturally do, but we tell them "no! no snacks! we are having a big dinner and you need to save your appetite" and then when the child does not even 4 servings of dinner, we get upset and tell them they aren't allowed to leave the table until they finish everything on their plate.... we our teaching our kids our bad eating habits. Not only is it frustrating, but I find it a particular kind of cruel that has no excuse.
I think my daughter is a wonderful eater. She will at least TRY everything that is on her plate. She knows that once she takes one bite, I am proud of her for trying it and she does not need to eat more of it if she doesn't like it, or just isn't hungry. This, along with her natural curiosity and my love of cooking ethnic and new foods has given her a love of foods. BUT lets look at what she ate yesterday
Breakfast- 1/2 a pancake with syrup and 1/2 a piece of bacon
1 cup milk
Snack- 1 go-gurt
Snack- 1 cup of mixed berry smoothie
Lunch- several big bites of my turkey, spinach, tomato, cucumber and hummus sandwich.
Snack- 1 Apple
1 cup water
NAP
Snack- Fruit gummies
Snack- a few pieces of broccoli she picked from the garden.
Dinner- One bite of spaghetti.
1 cup water
For many parents, this is completely unacceptable. She didn't even eat dinner! gasp! But lets look at it through what we know about nutrition. She got her milk, lots of vitamins and antioxidants, some digestion helping yogurt, plenty of liquids.... We know its best to eat your largest meal at the beginning of the day and eat very little before bed. She had a good breakfast, lots of snacks throughout the day, but hardly anything but water at night. In my book, this is pretty darn good. In fact, its much better than what I ate yesterday.
Our kids eat, dog food, dirt, glue, and lip stick... and you are telling me they won't eat what you put in front of them for dinner? Either you are the worst cook in the history of the world, or there is too much pressure associated with food. I'd wager the second is more likely, but if you need help with the first, I have a few toddler friendly recipes in the "recipes" tab at the top of this page.
No comments:
Post a Comment