Culture Post: Want to Get Your Kids to Eat Their Vegetables? Eating Your Own First May Be the Secret

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Want to get your kids to eat their vegetables? Eat your own first. A recent survey of 2,000 parents of children ages six and younger found that 53 percent have noticed their kids eating unwanted vegetables specifically to mimic them. Overall, 78 percent believe their children learned their table manners, specifically by imitating them at the table.

The survey found that 82 percent feel it’s important for their child to sit at the same table as them during mealtimes, and that 80 percent described eating with their child as one of their favorite ways to bond.

“Every interaction is a window of opportunity for learning and development,” says Associate Professor Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist at the University of Copenhagen, Johanne Smith-Nielsen, in a statement. In fact, 70 percent of respondents said they frequently notice their child learning from their own behavior. The most commonly adopted manners kids typically learn from their parents include using “please” and “thank you” (42%), eating with their mouths closed (42%), and figuring out how to use utensils (41%).

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/kids-eat-their-vegetables/

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