Sometimes getting children to eat properly can be a nightmare. Most of the time children only want sweets, crisps and chocolate because these are foods they see as exciting. They know they can only have such treats now and again and, thus, they become an exciting choice. However, when it comes to eating other foods – such as cereal, fruit, biscuits, bread, vegetables and so on and so forth – children seem to simply move their food around the plate and barely eat anything. They sense that you want them to eat the food and, therefore, in their eyes it is deemed boring. However, there is a way you can try to get your children to eat all sorts of foods.
Look for a cartoon on the box
There is an array of different foods available in supermarkets nowadays that feature images of cartoon characters on the box. This includes anything from tins of tuna, to breakfast cereal, to biscuits, to yogurts, to cheese, to tinned spaghetti and much more. If you look around you will actually see that there is a mass selection of food that has a certain cartoon featured, this can be anything from Scooby Doo to Ben 10 Ultimate Alien to Tom and Jerry.
The food seems more exciting
The main reason why children eat food when it has come out of a box related to their favorite cartoon is because it seems more exciting. Take a tin of spaghetti for example. When your child sees a tin of spaghetti in the market it is unlikely that the tin will provoke any positive emotions. However, if the tin is labeled with the child’s favorite cartoon show – such as Ben 10 Ultimate Alien – they immediately notice their favorite cartoon show or character. They are drawn to it and this creates excitement.
They think the food is special or new
Another reason why children tend to eat food if it has come out of cartoon wrapping is because they believe they are getting to experience a new type of food. They believe they are eating food that is fit for their favorite cartoon character. This means that a lot of the time they simply cannot wait to get the food out of the box and begin to indulge.
They may even get a special toy
On occasion, food labeled with a popular cartoon character comes with a gift. If your child sees a food box with Ben 10 Ultimate Alien on it, for example, they may think that they are getting a Ben 10 gift inside of the box. This is usually the case when it comes to cereal or snacks. You can use this to your advantage and say that your child is only allowed to look for a toy if they finish their breakfast or whatever other meal they are eating.
If you are looking for a new and innovative way to try and get your children to eat certain foods then you should definitely look for food that comes in cartoon packaging. To an adult this may seem like a waste of money. However, when it comes to children, cartoon-based food breeds excitement and fun and, therefore, gives you the best possible chance of getting your children to eat.
Author bio –
Celina is a freelance journalist. She used Cartoon Network and shows such as Ben 10 Ultimate Alien for research for this article.