571 Chew Chew Train

A game about the preposterous vehicles we use to get children to eat “yucky” foods.

Food does not inherently taste good or bad. Taste is subjective, and mostly up to the person to decide on. But feeding a child might have us believing otherwise. Children’s perception of taste is probably based on two main things: past experiences and observation. They base their opinion of something either on what they’ve experienced in the past, or what they’re seeing peers or adults do around them.

So, how do we get children to be open to more diverse foods?

The age-old debate of nature vs. nurture need not apply here; children’s acceptance of diverse taste is mostly in the hands of their parents. If for example you feed child sugary meals like chicken strips, BBQ wings, or Kraft Mac ’N Cheese… you can expect them to be surprised by the low-sugar taste of vegetables like spinach or broccoli. If you only ever fed your child vegetables, they may have a similar shock reaction to heavy-sugar foods.

Ultimately, this game could be about introducing children to a wide variety of foods, encouraging them to view new tastes and experiences with excitement. Maybe the game would use all sorts of different “vehicles” that are shaped like many different foods, encouraging and informing the child about why the food is interesting and how trying out new things can be exciting.

(Thanks Madeleine!)

[ Today I Was Playing: nothing… ]

#childrens-game, #educational-game, #food-game