We all want our kids to eat vegetables! Studies are showing there might be an easy way to get kids to eat more veggies. As a parent, there are many things you can do to create these healthy eating habits for your kids.
It’s so simple: let your kids watch other kids eating vegetables. That’s right!
If you want your kids to eat healthier then have them watch others eat healthier! Sounds far-fetched? Far from it!
Studies Prove It
Recent studies with preschoolers show that kids who watch other kids eat veggies via video are more likely to eat that same vegetable a week or so later. Seriously.
Can this be true? Can this be the way to solve picky eating? It’s not a hundred percent solution, but it’s a good first step. So how exactly does this work?
Let’s go into a little detail.
The Study with Preschoolers
A group of 42 preschoolers from ages 3 to 5 took part in the study conducted by Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The kids were broken up into groups of three.
One group watched a video of kids their age eating bell peppers; another group watched kids brush their teeth, and another group watched nothing at all.
The next day, the kids who watched the video of those eating bell peppers actually ate less bell peppers than the other kids, however, a week later the group who watched the video of kids eating vegetables actually ended up eating more bell peppers exponentially.
It’s not immediate, but what is with kids? Just like potty training or weaning, getting to healthy eating habits are a continual process that happen over time.
What this demonstrated to the researchers was that kids are positively affected by watching their peers eat healthy foods.
“This indicates that the children retained the positive experience of watching peers eating the vegetable and were able to reproduce that action one week later,” Amanda Staiano said, the researcher who lead the study (1).
Call It Peer Pressure. We Call It Success!
The kids who watched the videos were heavily influenced by the kids in the video since they were their peers. This is a form of role modeling of following their peers. What this study suggests is a possible breakthrough in solving eating issues, by showing kids their peers eating the way you want them to eat. Throught watching what their peers are doing, your kid might be able to learn healthy eating habits just by observation!
If your child is a picky eater, please check out our article, The Science of Picky Eating and video to better understand picky eating.
Watch an Example With Your Kids.
The video above shows my twins eating a bell pepper. I happened to have my phone out when my daughter started biting into a whole pepper.
Healthy Eating Habits Young Create Lifelong Healthy Eaters
Did you watch this with your kids?
You should! As we’ve shown, watching videos of kids eating vegetables will have the positive effect of getting your child to eat veggies! Give it a try. Also, be sure to help inspire other kids by sending us a video of your kid eating veggies! Be part of the community!
