Picture Books Teach Kids to Love Junk Food (More)
Children’s books show everything from the everyday to the fantastic. Food is definitely present, so the researchers calculated what types of food are depicted and what kinds of food are being reported in books. It turns out that junk food is portrayed in a very positive way.
“It’s not that books shouldn’t have ice cream, but people should know what the main idea is,” says Jane Goldman, who led the study published in Appetite . Ice cream has almost always been portrayed as a treat, a happy ending, or a means to make someone feel better.
Sweets were generally portrayed in a positive light 80% of the time, compared to 18% for vegetables. And most of the adults surveyed by the researchers didn’t notice food in the books at all.
All of this means that it would be nice to pay attention to what children’s books write about food. Even if you don’t use food as a reward in your home, your kids can learn these ideas from the stories they read and watch. Now that you know what these food messages are in their books, you might be wondering if you want to talk to your kids about them and how to do it.
Children’s Books Can Boost Your Appetite For Unhealthy Foods | UConn today