A fabulous article on children and food hit the "most emailed" list of the New York Times (free login required) this morning - even though I have a fairly food-adventurous 3-year-old son, I see some mistakes I'm making!

• Pressuring them to take a bite: I know that it takes 10 or more tries for children to like a new flavor (adults too - I taught myself to like olives by trying it more than 2 or 3 times!). But I didn't realize that research shows children who are rewarded for trying new foods actually develop a dislike of the food! Far better to offer it and not make a big deal.
• Keeping treats out of sight: We're trying not to make dessert a reward, but we do keep the cookies up on top of the fridge - and again, research shows that cookies in a jar are much more enticing than cookies on a plate!

Check out the whole article for the other mistakes - including dieting, serving boring vegetables (a little butter actually makes the fat-soluable vitamins accessible to your body!) and keeping your kids out of the kitchen (easier said than done with some preschoolers!).

Related Links:

flickr.com/photos/veganwarrior/1182656624/

This entry was posted on September 15, 2008 and is filed under Jennifer Caleshu.
Tagged: in the news, parents
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