07 December 2023
Persuading children to eat their vegetables is often difficult and that challenge only gets harder when Brussels sprouts are on the menu -- but a new Christmas children’s book gives parents two weeks to change that.
Published by the University of Reading, SEE & EAT Christmas Vegetables is designed to help little ones to eat their vegetables at Christmas. Peer-reviewed research from the expert psychologists that make up the SEE & EAT team has shown that looking at a vegetable book for just a few minutes a day for around two weeks is often enough to make all the difference when the vegetable appears on a child’s plate.
SEE & EAT Christmas Vegetables follows the farm-to-fork journey of five vegetables (carrots, cabbage, parsnips, broccoli and Brussels sprouts) which will likely feature on many dinner plates in a fortnight. Pre-schoolers are more likely to eat a vegetable if they are familiar with how the vegetable looks, how it grows and how it is prepared before being offered at mealtimes. This is especially true for vegetables they do not like or have not tried before.
University of Reading Professor Carmel Houston-Price, who leads the SEE & EAT team, said: “Christmas is all about eating yummy food but vegetables can be yummy too. There’s not long left before Santa comes to town so now is the right time to start looking at the Christmas Vegetables picture book. Spending just a few minutes a day reading the book will mean no tears at the dining table and a healthy, happy child. The Christmas Vegetables picture book would make a great early Christmas gift for any parent who wants their little ones to eat healthily but needs a little help to get there.”
SEE & EAT Christmas Vegetables is the latest book to be published in SEE & EAT series with 19 other paperback books each focusing on a different vegetable also available to purchase. The books are based on more than 15 years of research by the University of Reading into ways to support children’s health eating.
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