高中(學測,指考)◆英文題庫下載題庫

Children normally have a distrust of new foods. But it’s the parents’ job to serve a variety of foods and expose their children to healthy dieting habits.

Some simple strategies can help even the pickiest eater learn to like a more varied diet. First of all, you don’t have to send children out of the kitchen. With hot stoves, boiling water and sharp knives at hand, it is understandable that parents don’t want children in the kitchen when they’re making dinner. But studies suggest that involving children in meal preparation is an important first step in getting them to try new foods. In one study, nearly 600 children from kindergarten to sixth grade took part in a nutrition curriculum intended to get them to eat more vegetables and whole grains. The researchers found that children who had cooked their own foods were more likely to eat those foods in the cafeteria than children who had not. Kids don’t usually like radishes, but if kids cut them up and put them in the salad, they will love the dish.

Another strategy is not to diet in front of your children. Kids are tuned into their parents’ eating preferences and are far more likely to try foods if they see their mother or father eating them. Given this powerful effect, parents who are trying to lose weight should be careful of how their dieting habits can influence a child’s perceptions about food and healthful eating. In one study of 5-year-old girls about dieting, one child noted that dieting involved drinking chocolate milkshakes, because her mother was using Slim-Fast drinks. Another child said dieting meant “you fix food but you don’t eat it.” By exposing young children to erratic dieting habits, parents may be putting them at risk for eating disorders.