How to teach a child to eat vegetables

• How to teach a child to eat vegetables

To convince their children to eat vegetables, parents have developed an arsenal of different techniques. However, if your child ovoschefob stubborn, it may be that none of them does not work. Where cunning and strength fail, help psychology. Thanks to the new psychological reception you finally feed your baby useful herbs.

The fewer the more attractive they are

The story begins as an anecdote: "Two professors with their children came to the restaurant ..." But there is a very different ending, because two professors eventually discovered the psychological life hacking dreamed about many, many parents.

So, Kellogg School of Management Professor Mishal Maymaran and Yuval Salant brought their children to a restaurant. The restaurant was Japanese, so the children ordered rolls with avocado. Those were never fans of green vegetables and Rollo reacted coolly. But then the parents noticed something strange: instead of having to completely abandon the dishes, the children pulled from the rolls avocado slices and eaten. Then the professor ordered a plate of sliced ​​avocado, and its contents, too, was immediately absorbed.

Why do children manifest a sudden love for avocados? Perhaps this is due to the fact that very little roll him? - parents have suggested. As we know, children often engage in a struggle for any limited resource. Whether this also applies to food? And if the parents can apply competitive streak with benefit to themselves? To dot the i, the professor went to the kindergarten and spent a series of experiments. Children four to five years, offering toys and healthy treats. Sometimes allowed to eat and play as much as you want, but sometimes sets a maximum limit. And it turned out that whether it's Lego, carrots or grapes than the limitation was a resource, the more children they wanted.

"If the children thought that the number of carrots is limited, they ate twice as much on carrots than the children of the group where there was no limit. It is also curious that the first group considered more tasty treats. 96% of children in the group, where the limit on the carrot has been set, call them delicious, compared with 67% of children in the control group "- informs resource Kellogg Insight.

Use lost profits syndrome

There is a useful feature of child psychology that parents can use to their advantage when they want to child ate greens. Tell your child that all the vegetables that you have - it's just a little pieces on the plate. Or simply offer vegetables as often (but still in the normal quantities). Thus, you increase the chance that your child gobbled up everything without a trace.

"If you want children to eat vegetables or fruit, just offer fewer of them" - advises Maymaran.

Backed by the research of Professor trick is now successfully used at home. How to think whether it will work for you?