UK: Paying children to eat their greens
Any parent knows the difficulty in getting children to eat their vegetables. One researcher however…Any parent knows the difficulty in getting children to eat their vegetables. One researcher however claims that he has found the best way to get kids to eat them. The idea is to fight greens with green. It may sound crazy, but Tam Fry, a spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum suggests parents pay children to eat their vegetables in order to fight the rising obesity epidemic.
“It is a tangible reward for children eating their vegetables but allows them to understand the value of money and how to save it for later in life. Any reward you might offer them to eat their vegetables must be something of value. Money is always a good incentive,” Tam Fry said.
His theory is that if children are rewarded for their efforts with money, and are able to see the positive side effects of eating the vegetables, they will be more willing.
“If the children eat their vegetables and accumulate enough money, they could then buy themselves a small gift,” he said.
He believes it is a 'two-birds-one-stone' scenario, kids eat healthy and learn valuable life lessons in saving money.
"It is also a way of introducing them to another aspect of growing up and becoming responsible."
But some psychologists believe bribing of any kind can lead to negative effects on a child’s relationship with food, the Guardian reported. “As long as we make food ‘healthy’ or ‘good’ food an issue we are going to produce anxiety,” psychotherapist Susie Orbach told the paper.
