Kids not eating their vegetables? Study says give them a new name

March 3, 4:24 AMScience Geek ExaminerVanessa Richins

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Science Geek Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 Flickr user jackol

One of my younger sisters was a bit strange when she was little.  One of her favorite snacks?  Frozen vegetables straight out of the bag.  Of course, this is much healthier than the chips, cookies and other snacks that most kids prefer, but it still is unusual.

Many children refuse to eat vegetables.  How can you help the kids eat healthier? Change the name of the vegetables, of course.

As LiveScience reports, "In a new study, 186 four-year-olds were given regular carrots and, on other lunch days, they were given the same vegetables renamed X-ray Vision Carrots. On the latter days, they ate nearly twice as many."

The benefits weren't confined to just those days that carrots were named as X-Ray Vision Carrots.  The study showed that the kids ate 50% more carrots afterwards, even if the special name wasn't used.

It worked on me as a kid.  We called out broccoli "trees".  I was always sure to eat all my trees at dinner.

Next time you want to serve vegetables for dinner, give them a new name. Whether it's "Super Duper Squash" or "X-ray Vision Carrots", you just may get the tots to eat their veggies for once.

What are some fun names you can think of for vegetables?