Easy ways to motivate children to eat vegetables

How to Get Kids to Consume More Vegetables

Many parents have problems motivating their children to eat vegetables. Researchers now found that children should not be praised for actually eating their vegetables. The right way to bring the children to the consumption of their non-tasting vegetables, according to the experts, the little ones just to confront again and again.

Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium found in their study that children are more likely to be consumed with vegetables if they are repeatedly confronted with the hated vegetables. Physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Food Quality and Preference".

Many children do not enjoy eating vegetables. Especially chicory does not taste children and most refuse to eat this vegetable. (Image: M.studio/fotolia.com)

Praise and reward are wrong

Many children refuse to knit them while eating their vegetables. The taste does not seem to promise the children and they usually prefer to eat unhealthy foods, such as French fries and pizza. Parents often try to motivate their children to eat more vegetables by praising the offspring or giving them small rewards when they consume small amounts of various vegetables. However, this seems to be the wrong way to go.

Repeated confrontation with vegetables leads to more consumption

A better way to get children to eat more vegetables that the kids do not normally enjoy is simply to keep them coming back with these vegetables. In the researchers' experiments, children were repeatedly offered vegetables, which increased the likelihood that they would eventually consume the vegetables and taste better compared to children who did
received a reward for eating vegetables, the doctors say.

98 subjects in childhood participated in the study

For the study, the psychologists at the Belgian Ghent University examined a total of 98 preschool children. The experts analyzed the children's response to ten different vegetables that were either steamed or cooked. Fennel, chicory, zucchini, mushrooms, peas, leek, brussels sprouts, beetroot, spinach and cauliflower were among these vegetables. A taste test revealed that chicory tasted the youngest participants the worst.

Children repeatedly evaluated the taste of chicory

The children were given a bowl of stewed chicory and should choose for themselves how much they would like to eat. After eight minutes, they were then asked to rate the dish with so-called cartoon facial expressions as yummy, just OK or disgusting. This trial was performed twice a week for one month, followed by a taste test after eight weeks.

Some participants received different rewards

The children were divided into three groups during the study, with one group being asked to repeatedly try the bowl of chicory without further encouragement, while the other two groups received rewards in the form of stickers, toys or verbal praise.

Results of the investigation

The results showed that after the experiment, 81 percent of the children who simply tried the chicory, without receiving a reward, consumed the vegetables. When the children were given toys or stickers to reward for consumption, the value was only 68 percent. When the children were orally praised, 75 percent consumed the vegetables.

Repeated exposure is the best way

All parents know how difficult it is to get children to eat their vegetables. Many parents therefore offer the children various rewards or sweets in return for the children to eat their vegetables. However, the results underline that repeated exposure is the best way to get children to eat vegetables, study authors explain. (As)