New York, Dec 3 (IANS) Are you frustrated at the sight of your kid leaving so much uneaten food on the plate? Take heart.
According to a fascinating study, children who only eat half to two-thirds of the food they serve themselves are not being wasteful, belligerent or disrespectful.
�They are just being normal children. This should provide comfort and reduce anxiety for the frustrated ‘Clean Plate Club’ parents,� said lead researcher Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab.
The researchers aggregated six different studies of 326 elementary school-aged children.
It showed that if their parents are not around, the average child only eats about 60 percent of what they serve themselves.
More than a third goes right in the trash.
Unlike adults, kids are still learning about what foods they like and how much it will take to fill them up.
�It is natural for them to make some mistakes and take a food they do not like or to serve too much,� Wansink added.
What is less natural is for them to be forced to eat their ‘mistakes� by their parents, noted Wansink, author of the book titled �Slim by Design: Mindless Eating Solutions for Everyday Life�.