Peer Power
Daycare, morning tea time, I heared: “More milk!” So, I served him more milk.
His mate, sitting next to him, asked for “Rice milk”. So, I served the other one with a cup of rice milk.
The first one, watching this while draining his cow’s milk down his throat went “I want rice milk”. I was surprised, but said “Sure”.
I poured a little more than a splash of rice milk in his cup and gave it to him. And watched it attentively…
He ceremoniously gave it a little sip… then, widened his eyes, looked at me and seemed undecided about what to do next. He stared at me, holding his cup in the air, half way between the table top and his mouth for long seconds…
I decided to put him out of his misery: “Are you finished?” Nod. I took the cup from his hand. Splash of rice milk left over in the bottom… “That was interesting, huh?” No word back, boy just staring back at me. I wiped his mouth and sent him off to play.
The second boy had already finished his rice milk and was standing by, waiting for his friend.
That short moment made my day!
Peer power is a reality!
Parents often tell me their kids “Eat better when visiting other people”. I ask if there are other kids present on those occasions: “Yes, his cousins”, “Yes, a friend from his daycare”, “Yes, our neighbour’s kids”.
It’s quite normal that children may feel more bold and confident to eat and try new foods when they see their friends doing it.
That’s what happened to boy #1 in my story (1). He got curious about rice milk that his friend asked for, he gave it a go and was, in my perception, quite shocked by it! Shocked probably because it is a totally new taste for him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it and will never try it again.
If his mate keeps having it in front of him, he might give it another go. Or he might even decide by himself to try it again, or never, till the end of his life. I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.
The point is that some kids do respond positively to their peers’ influence when it comes to food and eating.
“THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY COOKING!”
If that is what crosses your mind when your little one tries another mum’s food, but won’t touch yours, it could simply be Peer Power playing its role. Don’t despair! And don’t use that little friend as an example to convince yours to eat their broccoli in the future, using subterfuges like “When you visited Julian, you ate it!” It can backfire and even make your child feel defeated! Just accept the fact that, at times, Julian or other friend of the same age will influence your kid’s decision about what to eat. And never give up, keep on serving broccoli! It is not about the way you cook! Although it would be a good idea to vary the way you cook and serve broccoli every-now-and-then…
DAYCARE OPPORTUNITY
In a study run in Canada, researchers actually stated in their conclusions that “pre-schoolers’ dietary intake… may be influenced by the behaviours of their peers in childcare centres”(2). So, if that’s your little one’s age bracket, it could be a good move to enrol them into centres that
(a) provide meals that follow public health guidelines such as the Australian Dietary Guidelines or Munch & Move in NSW, or that
(b) have a comprehensive food policy that includes recommendations for lunchboxes. Good policies will usually recommend, not impose, appropriate foods to be sent in lunchboxes and, I’m sure those will be the foods you have been wanting your child to eat [more of] anyway.
So, in either case, your child would have opportunities to watch their friends enjoying, on a regular basis, foods you would like them to be eating. I know you get the picture now, right?
WATCH OUT FOR WHAT THEY WATCH ON TV (and other screens)
Another study done in America showed that pre-school children were influenced to increase their intake of capsicum just by watching other children of the same age eating it in a video clip on three occasions over a week (3)!
So, here, another opportunity to use Peer Power in your favour: select your child’s screen time. Perhaps allowing children to watch programs that occasionally show characters or other children eating foods you consider appropriate, will likely influence them to try those foods themselves. The problem is that the opposite is also true. Let them watch programs showing inappropriate foods being consumed by children will also play a role in their food choices.
So, there you go, one more tool in your kit to help your little devil to improve their relationship with food: Peer Power! But, when it gets too tricky, don’t despair and simply call me.
References
Specific social influences on the acceptance of novel foods in 2-5yo children – (Study, 2005, USA)
“Monkey see, monkey do”: Peers’ behaviours predict pre-schoolers’ physical and dietary intake in childcare centres – (Study, 2017, Canada)
Influence of scree-based peer modelling on pre-school children’s vegetable consumption and preferences – (Study, 2016, USA)
