Helping children get familiar with vegetables

A study followed 159 children aged 3–6 as they encountered an unfamiliar vegetable, daikon, at different frequencies.

Acceptance and intake improved; even controls with a few exposures improved. No single exposure frequency was established as best, and acceptance did not systematically generalize to other vegetables.

Practical suggestion: offer a small age-appropriate amount beside a familiar food and provide calm, repeated tasting opportunities.

Research source

Karagiannaki et al. • Foods • 2021 • Intervention study

Illustrative photograph. Shameel mukkath / Pexels