Improving Children’s Nutritional Choices

Children can be notoriously fussy eaters. One minute, they love something and it’s all they will eat; the next, they won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. If something smells a bit odd—think fish or Brussels sprouts—then you’ve lost the battle before you’ve even started. If you’re lucky enough to have a child who devours whatever you put in front of them without protest or tantrum, you’ve hit the caregivers’ jackpot. 

However, raising kids isn’t just about getting them to eat the right foods. It’s a complex, multifaceted challenge that is shaped by a number of factors. In 2022, 231 million children worldwide were living with some form of malnutrition, including stunting, wasting, overweight, or obesity.¹ Beyond the temperament of the child and what they are willing to eat, it also comes down to food availability and other external influences, such as advertising and peers. 

In some countries, food insecurity (often caused by climate change, conflict, or political instability) means that caregivers struggle to find food that will provide their children with a balanced diet. For other families, financial stress or poverty severely limits their ability to prepare fresh and nutritious meals, particularly when processed food is much cheaper. And arguably, every parent and child across the globe is influenced by marketing from multinational corporations selling their high-fat, high-sugar products in bright, visually appealing packaging. 

From birth to early childhood, and even into adolescence, nutrition is a critical part of health and development.² Giving children the right foods from day one leads to stronger immune systems, healthy growth, and improved learning. Behavioral science can help address the challenges associated with children’s nutritional habits by shedding light on why children make the food choices they do, and how caregivers can influence those choices in positive ways. From understanding the power of habits and social norms to designing small nudges that make healthy foods more appealing, behavioral insights offer practical tools to improve children’s diets in diverse contexts.