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11.09.2008 | 3:11:42 pm | Posted by mummums
By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist
Ever wonder what your child would pick out if they could do the grocery shopping? You may provide a balanced diet at home while secretly hoping your child would do the same if even if they had their own choice. The answer to that mystery may have arrived and surprisingly a toddler’s food choices do indeed stem from you eat.
A new study by Dartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire reveals that children mimic their parents eating habits. Featured in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the study found that children as young as 2 appear to be already forming food preferences. Possibly long term habits, the children in the study did not reach for chips and sweets unless those were foods their parents regularly had on their grocery list.
One hundred and twenty 2-6 year olds were given the opportunity to “buy” food at a play grocery store for the study. The kids were told they could choose any food they wanted from “healthy” choices like whole grains, milk and fresh produce; as well as “less healthy” food  such as soda, chips, candy and desserts. All parents in the study regularly took their children grocery shopping and parents completed questionnaires detailing the items on their usual shopping lists.
Children with the healthiest eating habits were also following their parents’ lead. The researchers explain that even at an early age children can absorb and assimilate their parents’ food choices even though they may not understand the health effects of such food choices. The majority of children had an equal mix of both types of foods; however 35 of the children chose mainly healthy foods which mirrored their health-conscious parent’s grocery list.
The researchers go on to say that the grocery store can serve as a classroom for toddlers where parents can emphasize that fruits and vegetables should take precedence over desserts and snack foods. Many nutrition education programs begin when children are school aged, however this study shows that even tots are observant of the food their parents are buying. Allowing a child at a young age to develop a taste for healthy fare could lead to lasting good food choices.
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The Baby Mum-Mum blog discusses everything to do with babies and parenting with
a focus on child health and child development. Baby Mum-Mum is a healthy, easy
to digest baby rice snack that is enjoyed by babies and mothers around the
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