Study: Strict Parents May Create Picky Kids

DMM英会話のdaily newsに対する自分なりの意見を、備忘録としてまとめています。今回取り上げるテーマはStudy: Strict Parents May Create Picky Kidsです。

A study from the University of Michigan has found that the pickiest children are those whose parents are the strictest about food.

Researchers looked at 317 pairs of mothers and children, with mothers reporting on their feeding techniques and their child's eating habits at ages 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

The researchers found that the children could be put into three groups: low pickiness (29%), medium pickiness (57%) and high pickiness (14%). The pickiest eaters would rarely eat vegetables, or were very nervous about new foods. And the pickiest eating was associated with parents restricting food choices and forcing children to eat.

Less picky eating was associated with fewer restrictions on foods and less pressure to eat. Children who had problems regulating their emotions were also more likely to be picky eaters.

Senior author Dr. Megan Pesch told CNN that the researchers did not find that children grew out of their pickiness during the five years of the study. However, she said that more research would be needed to know if that might change over time.

In an editorial published with the study, Nancy Zucker of the Duke University School of Medicine and Sheryl Hughes of the Baylor College of Medicine wrote that the pickiest children probably have "thousands of negative memories about food." They wrote that it's critical to focus on pleasant experiences.

Pesch said that kids shouldn't be made to eat everything on their plate if they don't want to. She also said parents shouldn't tell their kids they can only have dessert if they eat their vegetables.

Rather, experts say it's best to expose children to food many times — even if they don't eat it — so they get used to it. Parents should introduce kids to many different kinds of food, show that they themselves enjoy a variety of foods, and make meals a fun time that the whole family can enjoy. Older kids can also help choose and prepare the food they will eat.

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Discussion:

■1:What are your thoughts on the findings of this study?

I think this report is a very interesting research result.

Parents discipline their children in the hope that they will benefit them, but the irony is that they have the opposite effect.
I think this result suggests the need to reconsider parental interference with children.
I think that parents' opinions greatly influence their studies, friendships, and career choices, but I think that their opinions may not always give good results.

■2:Were you a picky eater as a kid? Please explain your answer.

I don't think I was a picky eater in my childhood.
I don't think I've been told "eat everything" or "eat it without taste".
At least the meal time was fun for me. There were some foods I didn't like at the time, but as I grew up, I became able to eat them naturally.

■3:Who's the pickiest eater you know? Please describe them.

One of my friends in college was a friend who ate almost nothing except meat.

I don't know if he had any problems in his childhood, but he said that he had an unbalanced diet that would hinder his friendship and work.

■4:Did your parents often force you to eat everything on your plate when you were growing up?

My parents put no particular restrictions on what I eat.

I rather remember that school teachers forced students to "eat all."
I myself was the type who could complete the meal without being told, so there was no problem.
However, some of my friends were crying and trying to eat without leaving, and I felt that this behavior was crazy.

■5:Please explain your answer.

What were your favorite foods as a kid? How often did you have them?

When I was a kid, I liked hamburgers and curry rice.
Basically, I eat at home, and I didn't often get my favorite food, but I ate them at special occasions such as birthdays and parties.

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Further discussion:

■1:Are there any foods that you disliked as a child but enjoy now? Please explain your answer.

Avocado, which I hate when I was a kid, is now my favorite food. But I don't know why. Maybe my taste has changed.

When I was in elementary school, I went to a friend's house to play and had lunch.
It was a seafood bowl with fresh vegetables and fish mixed with a lot of avocado.
Hide the fact that my friend's family doesn't like avocado, and try "eat it all". Actually, my friend was not good at avocado, so I ate for my friend. Then, my friend's mother misunderstood me as "a person who likes avocado" and treated me as an extra. It's a funny story now, but at the time it was nothing but a nightmare.

■2:How old were you when you learned to cook? Please explain your answer.

The exact time is ambiguous, but I think it's probably about 5-6 years old.

At that time, I was still shorter than the kitchen table, so I remember using a stepladder to lean on the table and help my mother cook.

■3:Have you ever taken a cooking class? If so, what did you learn? If not, would you like to?

I have never attended a cooking class. I would like to have an opportunity to participate in cooking classes in the future.

Due to the restrictions on going out due to the coronavirus, there are more opportunities to cook at home. I used to avoid cooking because I was busy with work, but I enjoyed cooking with my family very much. From now on, I want to study cooking more and value the time I spend with my family.

■4:Do you enjoy trying new foods? Why? Why not?

I think it's fun to try new food.

When I was a kid, I couldn't eat avocado, but as an adult, I became an avocado lover.
Like this example, I think there will be foods in the world that are dislike without even having tried it.

■5:Who's the biggest food lover you know? Please describe them.

I think my colleague is the biggest food lover.
He reads gourmet magazines on a daily basis. His hobbies are going to new restaurants and bars.He posts photos on Instagram and writes his impressions of food on his blog and features it.
I think it's more likely to ask him than to look at gourmet information on the Internet to get to a good restaurant.

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