We all want our children to eat healthy, nutritious meals
to fuel their growing bodies, but our best intentions may
be doing more harm than good.
Katrina Shute
finds out why
being honest and firm is best when it comes to feeding kids.
G
rate carrots into mince,
purée spinach into sauce,
hide the veggies and they’ll
never know they’re healthy
eaters! Sound familiar? In recent years,
we have seen dozens of cookbooks and
articles emerge, advising parents how
to stealthily get more vegetables into
their kids.
But a recent Australian study has
found that disguising nutritious food to
be more palatable for fussy eaters may
have lasting negative consequences.
Dr Jacqueline Peters is a
researcher at Adelaide University’s
Women’s and Children’s Health
Network. She says while tricking kids
may increase a child’s vegetable intake
in the short term, it could affect their
decisions to eat well in the long term.
“Disguising the taste of healthy
foods, such as broccoli or carrots,
prevents children from becoming
familiar with them, and will
discourage them from developing a
taste for, and actively choosing, healthy
options in the future,” she says. “When
kids find out, and they always do at
o t!
Vegging
