Nick Hornby (you know, the writer of “High Fidelity,” “About a Boy” and “An Education”) has a column devoted to what he is reading. He espouses on books that he bought but couldn’t finish, books he is embarrassed to admit loving, and books that inspire him to read out loud to his kids. It’s brilliant because few people ever talk about why they choose what they choose. It got me contemplating food (of course, nothing else holds my attention for long). Even before Pavlov and his dogs, thinkers have tried to understand why we eat what we eat.
There are as many theories as there are ways to eat. David Kessler might say it is because food companies have created addictions to sodium, fat and sugar. Cultural anthropologists would point to what our ethnic background and our family habits are. Dieters may point to the latest NY Times bestselling book that tells them what they should eat (but probably won’t for long). Economics of course will play into it. When N.Y. launched their rule about placing calories on menus, many actually started choosing meals based on maximizing how many calories they could consume for the least amount of money. Valid given the poverty rate.
But why do kids eat what they eat? Taste, of course. But there are so many other reasons I see when I am walking through one of our almost 300 schools. Peer pressure is a biggie in schools. I’ve seen kids shun things they have long loved because of fear of what their lunch tablemates might say. Speed is a big factor at school, especially when the best ball might be stolen before they can get to the field. Familiarity, comfort, really all of the reasons that adults eat what they eat are also factors for kids, but I wonder if there are additional reasons that kids choose what to eat that we adults don’t consider, or at least not to the same degree. What do you think? Why do your kids choose the foods they do?
