Preschool Children's Familiarity with Fruits and Vegetables: Impact of Exposure in the Home and School Environments

Abstract

Preschool children learn about fruits and vegetables (FV) through exposure at home and school. When children are exposed to FV frequently they are more likely to choose FV. The purpose of this study was to assess preschool children's ability to identify FV in relation to reported exposures at home and school. Twenty‐eight target fruits and vegetables were chosen based on FV classifications and previous pilot study observations. A researcher‐developed electronic, pictorial tool assessed preschool children's ability to identify specific FV in various forms (whole and transformed). A total of 57 photographs were assessed. Parents reported basic demographic information, child's FV consumption frequency, and availability of FV at home. Menus were obtained from each child's preschool to determine school‐related FV exposure. Researchers hypothesized that children with greater exposure to FV at home and school would be more likely to identify pictured FV. This study establishes baseline data on the influence of home and school environments on children's FV familiarity. Information obtained from this study can be used to develop future nutrition education materials and interventions for preschool‐aged children, parents, preschool staff and administrators. The potential to impact children's willingness to consume FV through visual exposure is a new avenue of research that warrants further investigation.