Making Fruits And Vegetables Appealing To Children

Eating time is often the time that parents have a problem dealing with their children. They might have exhausted all their pretentions, acting, convincing words, in short all their might , just to sway or encourage their children eat, especially fruits and vegetables. A present study shows that presentation of the food is very effective.

In a study involving 100 kids ranging from four to seven years old, researchers from Holland found out that children ate twice as much fruit and vegetables when they were prepared in a visually appealing manner.

They found out that children were more likely to eat apples, grapes and watermelon when they were cut and affixed to cocktail sticks than when presented on a simple white plate.

The next step in the experiment was to group the kids into three groups. One group would be allowed to eat only from the plate with the appealing presentation. Another group would be allowed to eat only from the plate where the apples and grapes are simply left on it. The last group of kids may choose from the two plates: the artistically design plate or the simply white plate.

Another experiment used the same groupings and the same choices, but this time all of the groups were could eat from either plate. The result of the survey is that kids consume twice of the apples and grapes from the artistically presented plates than those left simply on the white plates. Those who were restricted on only one plate did not have any consequence on the appetite.

In the U.S., it is recommended that children consume about one to two cups of fruit daily.

Most children in America, though, consume a lot less than that. Only six percent eat the required amounts according to the Centers for Disease Control.

So the next time you are having a hard time getting your children to eat vegetables and fruits, think about getting creative with your presentations. Although more research is needed in order to determine the cause for this preference, there is no doubt that making fruit and vegetables appealing to a child’s eye will get him or her to eat more.

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