We sit down to eat and the bowls of food are passed around. I help my 5-year-old get his food, while my 7-year-old can fend for herself. If they refuse an item, like broccoli, I don’t get into how good it is for them or how it will make them big and strong. Instead, it goes on a separate plate in case they change their mind or want to learn more about the food, which is often new or unfamiliar.
Why abstain from nutrition lessons while they are eating? Because one of my goals is to raise children who eat nutritious foods because they want to, not because they feel obligated. And there’s some research
to back me up on this one.
In a study to be published in the “Journal of Consumer Research,” researchers put preschool-age children in one of three groups:
healthy, yummy and control. Those in the healthy group were read a story about how crackers made a girl big and strong with lots of energy. The children in the yummy group were read a story about how the crackers
were tasty and made the girl happy. When invited to eat the crackers, children in the healthy group ate fewer crackers than those in the yummy and control groups. The other studies conducted, including one using
carrots, found similar results.
Why? The researchers theorize that when children are told food serves one goal (makes you big and strong), they view it as less effective in serving another goal (good taste and satisfying). But pointing out benefits of taste or saying nothing at all allows children to eat the food because it’s an enjoyable experience. No doubt these children are young but research shows as children age they increasingly view healthy food as inferior in the taste department.
When I had my first job as a nutrition counselor I believed that telling people which foods were good for them would automatically transform their eating. But it didn’t. In fact, most of them already knew what they should eat. More times than I can count, I heard, “I know what to do, I just don’t do it.” I learned the hard way that nutrition information alone doesn’t motivate people toward healthful eating.
I identified two problems. First, most people didn’t eat healthful foods or move their bodies as a part of their regular life. And second, they saw food in two separate categories “good/healthy” and “bad/unhealthy.” They believed they had to choose a side and that was tough because many enjoyed the foods deemed not good for them.
I realized before having children how vital it is to grow up with healthy habits as an enjoyable part of one’s life rather than the constant nag to eat healthful foods or exercise because it’s the right thing to do.
That’s why I love it that my 7-year-old chooses fruit at a party because it’s one of her favorite foods and that my son’s eyes light up when I give nuts as a snack. I also like that they enjoy sweets without guilt or overly fixating on them. They don’t see a world of healthful versus unhealthful food, and I like that. A lot.
And I would kind of feel suspect saying broccoli makes my children big and strong when it’s really their overall diet composed of many different foods that do the trick. No single food has the power to make or break their health.
This doesn’t mean I don’t (and won’t) teach my children about nutrition. But while my children are young I choose to use teachable moments instead. So if they ask for the same lunch they had yesterday I say, “We eat a variety of food — not the same thing every day.” If we already had something like ice cream earlier in the day they ask for dessert after dinner I tell them, “We already had something sweet so let’s skip it tonight.” That signals we eat those foods less often.
I don’t oversell a healthful, balanced diet to my children because that will only keep them from realizing its amazing benefits and tasty goodness. Instead of feeling as if they have to choose between the worlds of healthy and unhealthy, they get direct experience and a guiding hand, and are gradually learning the skills needed to make eating healthful foods last a lifetime.