From tense standoffs to strategic bargaining — the typical American parent spends 67 hours per yr “in negotiation” with their child, in line with recent research.
A survey of two,000 parents of school-aged children examined the food-related battles and compromises each household goes through and located the typical mom or dad strikes five bargains with their child per week.
The survey also found that dinnertime is essentially the most common meal of the day for fogeys to receive pushback from their young ones, with children aged five officially the pickiest.
Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of SeaPak, the outcomes showed nearly half of oldsters (44%) are concerned their child’s pickiness is affecting their overall nutrition.
Complaints about not wanting to eat veggies (37%) were the primary reason for mealtime meltdowns, followed by disliking the smell of the meal (33%) and “not liking the way in which it looks” (32%).
Fourteen percent of oldsters said food battles stem from their child not wanting to try something recent, further complicating the problem.
“It’s such a typical problem, said Meaghan Murphy, lifestyle expert and spokesperson for SeaPak. “We hear from parents on a regular basis who wish to make sure that their children are getting a balanced food plan but who are also hesitant to eat anything they’ve never had before. The excellent news is that with just a little creativity, introducing recent foods and flavors into familiar dishes can assist children expand their palates and luxuriate in a more varied, nutritious food plan without the stress.”
A number of the ways parents who participated within the survey addressed this issue were to interact with their children more around mealtime, reasonably than punish them for his or her pushback.
The most well-liked foods parents said their kids rarely turn down were pizza (76%), chicken nuggets (73%), fries (72%), macaroni and cheese (66%) and hamburgers (58%).
And seafood is a reliable go-to for a few third of oldsters who said their kids never say no to shrimp (32%) or fish sticks (31%).
And people familiar favorites come in useful when expanding kids’ culinary palettes. One of the crucial common strategies parents use is pairing recent foods with flavors children already enjoy (31%).
Other strategies parents said they use to get their kids to try something recent were getting their kids involved in meal preparation (36%) and introducing recent foods steadily (34%). In relation to the forms of food parents receive essentially the most pushback on, vegetables were overwhelmingly where parents saw essentially the most refusals (56%). Just 17% of oldsters said the identical about proteins.
Additional helpful tactics parents noted were teaching children in regards to the advantages of nutrition (28%), making a positive, pressure-free mealtime environment (26%) and modeling positive behaviors by trying recent ingredients for the primary time with their kids (26%).
Repeated exposure (25%), offering rewards or incentives (19%) and preparing food in fun shapes and colourful arrangements (19%) were also mentioned.
Interestingly, just a little over one in 4 participants (26%) said they were a picky eater as a child and are still a picky eater.
“We all know that getting picky eaters to try recent foods is usually a challenge, but seafood is a fantastic source of protein that provides a fast and simple strategy to make mealtime each fun and nutritious,” said Ciera Womack, Director of Marketing, Seafood at Wealthy Products Corporation. “Our goal is to assist parents feel confident in serving seafood in ways which can be familiar and approachable, whether it’s a twist on a favourite dish or a fun recent shape that sparks curiosity. Every small step toward variety can assist set the stage for healthier eating habits down the road.”
MOST COMMON KID CRITIQUES AT MEALTIME
● I don’t like vegetables/a certain vegetable (37%)
● I don’t just like the smell (33%)
● I don’t like the way in which it looks (32%)
● It’s too spicy (22%)
● It’s too mushy (18%)
● I don’t wish to eat something recent (14%)
● It’s too plain/bland (10%)
● It’s boring (9%)
● I had this recently (yesterday, at lunch at college, etc.) (9%)
● It’s too chewy (9%)
● It’s too hot (temperature, not spice) (9%)
● It’s too cold (7%)
● It’s too crunchy (6%)
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American parents with school-aged children; the survey was commissioned by SeaPak and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between January 31 – February 4, 2025.
From tense standoffs to strategic bargaining — the typical American parent spends 67 hours per yr “in negotiation” with their child, in line with recent research.
A survey of two,000 parents of school-aged children examined the food-related battles and compromises each household goes through and located the typical mom or dad strikes five bargains with their child per week.
The survey also found that dinnertime is essentially the most common meal of the day for fogeys to receive pushback from their young ones, with children aged five officially the pickiest.
Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of SeaPak, the outcomes showed nearly half of oldsters (44%) are concerned their child’s pickiness is affecting their overall nutrition.
Complaints about not wanting to eat veggies (37%) were the primary reason for mealtime meltdowns, followed by disliking the smell of the meal (33%) and “not liking the way in which it looks” (32%).
Fourteen percent of oldsters said food battles stem from their child not wanting to try something recent, further complicating the problem.
“It’s such a typical problem, said Meaghan Murphy, lifestyle expert and spokesperson for SeaPak. “We hear from parents on a regular basis who wish to make sure that their children are getting a balanced food plan but who are also hesitant to eat anything they’ve never had before. The excellent news is that with just a little creativity, introducing recent foods and flavors into familiar dishes can assist children expand their palates and luxuriate in a more varied, nutritious food plan without the stress.”
A number of the ways parents who participated within the survey addressed this issue were to interact with their children more around mealtime, reasonably than punish them for his or her pushback.
The most well-liked foods parents said their kids rarely turn down were pizza (76%), chicken nuggets (73%), fries (72%), macaroni and cheese (66%) and hamburgers (58%).
And seafood is a reliable go-to for a few third of oldsters who said their kids never say no to shrimp (32%) or fish sticks (31%).
And people familiar favorites come in useful when expanding kids’ culinary palettes. One of the crucial common strategies parents use is pairing recent foods with flavors children already enjoy (31%).
Other strategies parents said they use to get their kids to try something recent were getting their kids involved in meal preparation (36%) and introducing recent foods steadily (34%). In relation to the forms of food parents receive essentially the most pushback on, vegetables were overwhelmingly where parents saw essentially the most refusals (56%). Just 17% of oldsters said the identical about proteins.
Additional helpful tactics parents noted were teaching children in regards to the advantages of nutrition (28%), making a positive, pressure-free mealtime environment (26%) and modeling positive behaviors by trying recent ingredients for the primary time with their kids (26%).
Repeated exposure (25%), offering rewards or incentives (19%) and preparing food in fun shapes and colourful arrangements (19%) were also mentioned.
Interestingly, just a little over one in 4 participants (26%) said they were a picky eater as a child and are still a picky eater.
“We all know that getting picky eaters to try recent foods is usually a challenge, but seafood is a fantastic source of protein that provides a fast and simple strategy to make mealtime each fun and nutritious,” said Ciera Womack, Director of Marketing, Seafood at Wealthy Products Corporation. “Our goal is to assist parents feel confident in serving seafood in ways which can be familiar and approachable, whether it’s a twist on a favourite dish or a fun recent shape that sparks curiosity. Every small step toward variety can assist set the stage for healthier eating habits down the road.”
MOST COMMON KID CRITIQUES AT MEALTIME
● I don’t like vegetables/a certain vegetable (37%)
● I don’t just like the smell (33%)
● I don’t like the way in which it looks (32%)
● It’s too spicy (22%)
● It’s too mushy (18%)
● I don’t wish to eat something recent (14%)
● It’s too plain/bland (10%)
● It’s boring (9%)
● I had this recently (yesterday, at lunch at college, etc.) (9%)
● It’s too chewy (9%)
● It’s too hot (temperature, not spice) (9%)
● It’s too cold (7%)
● It’s too crunchy (6%)
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American parents with school-aged children; the survey was commissioned by SeaPak and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between January 31 – February 4, 2025.
