Getting children to eat nourishing vegetables and nutrient providing food is getting tougher for parents in a world where junk food of all sorts, shapes, colors and flavors reigns. As this epidemic takes its toll on parents, many resort to unconventional techniques to "bribe" their children into ingesting healthy food.
With responsible individuals in big positions (Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum charity) touting for bribery and backing it up with research, parents are not really to blame. More studies also prove that these methods work: a 2016 US study shows that bribing continued encouraging primary school age kids to ingest their greens up to two months later even after the incentive was halted.
With the core idea being kick starting the cognitive abilities of the child to understand the worth and value of the exchange and its constituents, over time the child would continue on the path regardless of the reward but solely due to habit. However, monetary incentives have been proven to decrease motivation.
Over time, subjects lost interest in the activities they were paid to carry out. Conclusively, this left bribing a bad short term treatment and not the expansive cure. Non-monetary rewards are no better as they instill a sense of punishment and reward in the child causing them to loathe the former i.e. greens and veggies.
Parents have plenty of other alternative techniques to follow and the best way to do so is to start early. Food preferences in a child develop at wombal stage with the first few months being crucial in the development of dietary habits.
With age, children require more exposure to a new vegetable so as to consume it. This is why vegetables need also be offered without pressure and frequently. Denial should not be a setback for the parents. This is because even if the first opportunity was missed, all is not lost.
Parents generally get disheartened after offering the same vegetables from three to five times. However, according to NCBI, toddlers specifically require up to 15 episodes of exposure. An important note to make is to not "hide" any veggies in your child's food. Your child needs to experience the food with all of their senses. The latter could also lose the child's trust in their parents if they find out later that their food was "spiked".
Numerous family meals which include the consumption of vegetables by parents is especially important. Studies show that children who have meals with family do consume more greens. Kids are known to copy their peers' behavior and setting a good example could go a long way.
Parents need to know that it is more than just what is on the plate - it is a developing relationship with food. Allow your child to help in the kitchen if they are old enough. This is a great way to accustom them to the different kinds and types of foods.
