The world is full of people fierce in the belief that they know the right diet to make your children glow with superior health. Few are shy about saying so. Fortunately, I’m here to help. I happen to know exactly what should go into your mouth, and into theirs, and, although you haven’t asked, I’m happy to tell you.
My confidence comes from the psychology department at Durham University, which has just published the results of a long-running experiment on getting children to eat their greens. Our broadsheets have summarised their findings with due reverence: ‘getting children to eat their vegetables starts in the womb’ (to quote the Guardian). ‘The secret to giving toddlers a taste for greens may start in pregnancy,’ agreed the Telegraph. To criticise such headline-worthy consensus would be ungenerous. Even so, allow me.
Let’s start with the study itself. Researchers set out to give 100 pregnant women capsules of powdered kale or carrot. Why carrot belonged in a study of bitter greens isn’t obvious. Covid restrictions, fumbled capsules and women deciding they had better things to do left only 32 from the intended 100. Their three-week-old babies were then shown cotton buds dipped in water, carrot or kale, and researchers rigorously measured their facial reactions in terms of ‘cry-face gestalts’ or ‘laughter-face gestalts’. I’m using technical language but you get the picture.
