What drives a child to choose one food or another at the time of purchase?

The autonomy of a child manifests itself in many ways. From his responsibility to do tasks, through his ability to eat alone, to the management of his money achieved through weekly pay. An economic amount that can be spent on many products, from a storybook to sweets or other food items.

What brings a child to to buy one product or another? Why do you opt for some brands of snacks and not for other more nutritious items? In this question has influenced the study of the Faculty of Sciences and Politics of Nutrition Friedman of the University of Tufts, where a strong link has been found between the decision taken and the brand.


What the child likes

In this study, a total of 116 children Between 8 and 11 years old they received a quantity of money that they could spend on different items, ranging from cookies with traces of chocolate, passing chunks of apple, a strawberry yogurt drink. All of them could be from a recognized brand of fast food or from a generic franchise.

At first the children were exposed to Photographs of the products without revealing the brand and they were asked what items they preferred. In most cases the children opted for cookies. In the second part of the study, the origin of the products was revealed and on this occasion most of the children opted for those items that came from the well-known fast food franchise.


The researchers noted that these data reveal three aspects in children's shopping preferences. On the one hand, that minors They do not pay so much attention to the price since in most cases the cost was left in the second term. At the other end of the table, points out that the tastes of children is another very important issue since these were the ones who decided to buy before the brand was revealed.

Finally, it is also pointed out that the brand is another important point. The experience that the child has had with a spectrum of concrete products invites you to buy them again in the future. Something that is related to the choice of tastes because it is another example of how the little ones enjoy it, is the top point for their future purchases.

The influence of advertising

Nor can we deny the influence of advertising on children in the face of poorly developed judgment. One test is this study where the monetary value was a point that was not taken into account by most of the children. For this reason it is important that parents know how to act to prevent junk food from becoming a wish for the children. More smalls. First of all, what is recommended is to maintain a climate of communication with all the members of the house. This will make it easier for debates to become normal at home.


Parents should normalize the presence of vegetables and fruits at home from a very young age. There is nothing better than letting the children participate in the kitchen as much as possible so that they get used to them. It is also important to highlight the good taste of these foods since often children conceive junk food as only tasty and other products as something unpalatable to the palate.

Nor should we see junk food as a reward, as a reward for effort. Many parents reserve these products for special occasions as good grades. You have to make children see that no matter how good this is, it is better not to abuse it since in the end they can have important consequences.

Damián Montero

Video: CAN PARENTS GUESS WHAT THEIR KID DOES WITH $100? Ep. #1


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