Getting Children to Eat Healthy Foods Brings Challenges to the Table

A healthy, balanced diet – it’s every parent’s goal for their child. But a new survey finds that when it comes to getting kids to eat healthy, moms and dads have their plates full.

According to the Ronzoni Smart Taste Family Table Survey nearly half of all parents (47%) of kids ages 3-12 have a difficult time feeding them nutritious, healthy foods. Older moms (ages 45-54) have the hardest time (57%). Parents from the western part of the country seem to have an easier time than those in other regions. Dads find it slightly more difficult than moms to interest their children in healthy meals (49% vs. 45%). Only 26% of parents find it very easy to feed their kids healthy meals.

There are many reasons why kids resist nutritious options, the survey finds. Parents say taste (32%) is by far the biggest reason healthy foods are rejected. Looks (10%) and texture (9%) follow.

And which good-for-you foods rank among the most offensive to children? Sardines top the list at 63%, followed by liver (59%) and beets (50%). Coming in closely behind are Brussels sprouts (49%) and okra (48%). Among the least offensive foods are carrots, with only 15% of parents saying their children find fault with them.

To dramatize the everyday challenges that moms and dads have in getting their kids to eat healthy foods, Ronzoni Smart Taste has created the video “Supermom.” The piece depicts the stunts one health-conscious mom goes through to sway her skeptical kids at the family table.

Harris Interactive® fielded the Ronzoni Smart Taste Family Table study on behalf of Ronzoni from October 29 – November 2, 2009 via its QuickQuerySM online omnibus service, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,392 U.S. adults ages 18+, of whom 330 are the parent/legal guardian of a child/children ages 3-12. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Kristen Ryan.