Discussion
This study provides the first investigation into the effects of introducing
newfruits and vegetables in playtime activities on toddlers’
subsequent acceptance of the foods at a mealtime setting. Results
suggest that familiarizing children with the non-taste sensory qualities
of foods increases children’s willingness to touch and taste them
when they are later offered these to eat. Specifically, when the total
numbers of exposed and non-exposed foods that children were
willing to touch or taste were compared, the intervention was seen
to impact strongly on children’s behavior toward vegetables. Toddlers
both touched and tasted more of the exposed than nonexposed
vegetables; they also touched more of the exposed foods
than non-exposed foods overall.
The order in which children approached the foods on each plate
also demonstrated their greater confidence in engaging with the previously
exposed foods; children touched and tasted the exposed
foods before they touched and tasted the non-exposed foods. Children’s
greater willingness to engage with the exposed foods was
evident toward both fruits and vegetables on this measure; children
touched the vegetable to which they had been exposed before
the non-exposed vegetable on each plate, and they tasted the
exposed fruit on each plate before the non-exposed fruit.
Overall, the results demonstrate a very clear impact of the intervention
on children’s willingness to try the targeted foods, and