Eating habits

As a child, I was an extremely picky eater. Kraft mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs was my favorite meal. Thinking back on it now, there is an immense variety of meals that I would prefer over that one. While I was growing up, there are specific events that occurred which made certain foods repulsive to me, some of which I can remember clearly. In the second grade, I was eating fish sticks at school, and the first time I bit into a scale I swore off seafood forever. I still haven’t eaten fish sticks, but now I love certain seafood dishes. When I was in eighth grade, my mom fed me lamb, saying it was chicken. I had never tried lamb because the thought of eating a lamb disgusted me, so I was furious when I found out that it wasn’t chicken. I can absolutely relate to the participants in Batsell et al.’s study for this reason. Forced consumption is an awful experience, although some parents think it’s a way to make their children healthy.

            To me, it seems as if the forces governing what we consume are a combination of parents, the government, and the media. When children grow up in their parents’ houses, their parents tell them what to eat. They buy, cook, and plate the food for their kids. But where do parents get ideas for what to feed their kids? They learned from their parents, the government ideals for a healthy diet, and advertisements that they see describing “healthy,” good foods to feed their families. I have not had experience seeing this in countries other than America, but I feel as if this would be true in most cultures. I think raising children to be smart, healthy eaters is very important. Telling them not to eat sweets or fats will not work, because they will do just the opposite. It is important to be honest and trusting with kids, so that they respect their parents. Obviously, kids need a structured environment, but parenting styles do have a lot to do with how they will grow up and mature, and how they will end up eating. It is apparent to me that all of the systems on Bronfenbrenner’s model influence how people form eating habits.