Parents can help make their kids better eaters

Children aren’t born picky eaters, they become them. Children don’t hate vegetables, they learn to dislike them. And if parents put their mind to it, they can make their kids better eaters, writes Sharon Ni Chonchuir

“DO you not serve children’s food?” This questioned always annoyed me when I ran my own café. “Of course we do,” I would answer. “We serve half portions of everything on the menu.” Some parents would panic. They couldn’t contemplate giving their children anything other than chips, chicken nuggets, or sausages.

How has it become the norm to serve children such a restricted selection of unhealthy foods? Bee Wilson asks this same question in her new book, First Bite. Drawing on research from food psychologists, neuroscientists and nutritionists, she reveals how our food habits are shaped, causing us to become picky-eaters, comfort-eaters, and yo-yo dieters.