The development and modification of children's eating habits

Abstract

The development of children's food preferences involves a complex interplay of innate, familial and environmental factors, not all of which are likely to promote a healthy and varied diet. Parents employ a variety of strategies to improve their children's eating habits some of which have been found to be counter-productive. Over-control, the offering of rewards, and the provision of nutrition information to children appear to have negative effects on food acceptance patterns. Parents own food preferences, on the other hand, are enormously influential and eating together as a family provides a valuable opportunity for parents to model good eating habits. Together with the evidence that repeated taste exposure can reduce neophobia and increase acceptance of foods, these findings should inform the guidance given to parents during early childhood. © 2004 British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin.