Wednesday, March 19, 2008

How to get your kids to eat vegetable?

It is early in the morning and I am up and about in the hotel and wondering what to write. Turning on the TV to keep me company in a cold and strange room is my usual habit. A British program on How to get your kids to eat vegetables is on the channel as I am thinking on my topic to type out in this column. Several ways were tested out by psychologists.
1. Have a role model to show them the way. Several child actors and actresses were sent to the school to mix with the kids. During lunch, the child actors and actresses eat veggies and the school kids observed and followed put veggies in their mouths and enjoying it. Three days later, the kid, who professed to hate broccoli eat the broccoli at home without his mum asking him to.
2. Rationing the snacks. The experiment is done in a nursey school. First all the dried fruits were tested. Two fruits, rasins and dried mangoes were tested neutral by the kids were used. During the first break, only dried mangoes is allowed. During the second break both dried fruit were allowed. By day 10, all the kids rushed and pushed each for raisins during the second break. When asked, raisins is now their favorite snacks. So rationing increases the desirability of the snack.
3. Does sugar caused hyperactivity? The experiment show that sugar does not make kids hyperactive. However it will make them fat.
4. Eating in front of the TV makes kids eat more.
There are more on the tv however it is hard to concentrate on the tv and write at the same time. So I missed out a few other facts and fallacies on food.

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