Kids can be really picky eaters, but new research reveals one easy fix for that. If you want your kids to eat their veggies, eat your own first. A survey of 2-thousand parents of kids ages six and younger finds that 53% have noticed their tots eating unwanted veggies just to copy them.
It turns out, kids learn a lot from their moms and dads at mealtime, as more than three-quarters (78%) of parents believe their kids learned their table manners specifically by mimicking them at the table. That may be why 82% of parents feel it’s important for their child to sit with them at the table during meals. Eight in 10 say eating with their child is one of their favorite ways to bond.
The family mealtime survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Stokke also reveals:
- Most of the parents polled started feeding their babies solid food when they were between six and 12 months old, but they didn’t synchronize their meal schedules together until their child was between 12 and 23 months old.
- Once they were eating at the same time, parents were less likely to make separate meals for the kids (45%) and started eating the same foods together (75%).
- The most common table manners kids learn from their parents include saying “please” and “thank you” (42%), eating with their mouths closed (42%) and figuring out how to use utensils (41%).
- Over three-quarters (81%) of parents believe the conversations they have with their child have an impact and 73% have witnessed their child use complex words like “predicament” or “appropriate” in conversations after picking up the words from mom or dad.
Source: SWNS Digital