Encouraging preschool kids to eat healthy and averting them from developing an unhealthy habit

What is it about?

Healthy eating is crucial for a child's wellbeing, development, and growth. Children who eat healthy will have a lower risk of developing chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some cancers as they get older. Moreover, they will feel better and enjoy life more as a result. Children must be physically active and consume the correct quantity of nutrients to balance their energy needs in order to stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight. The impact of junk food is increasing in today's lifestyle. On analyzing we realized that the age group 3-5 years is being affected the most as a result we choose this user group and age range to find out the problem. The research describes the issues faced by children, parents, and helpers of children at home. The home scenario is chosen as the face the most amount of difficulty and trouble eating at home. With this study, we hope to learn more about the concept and the problems, experiences faced by the children, parents and helpers. We also want the best solution for these kids which will solve this problem and help them live and healthy life. Data collection methods consisting of primary, secondary data collection, mind maps, survey interviews, behavioral models and a proper design research process were used to gather insights and to understand the topic. As a result, important implications, interviews, surveys, design validation, peer review, recommendations and insights were considered in building the final solution. Prior to developing the final solution, many concept sketches and prototypes were developed and numerous improvements were made. The final solution was given the name YumTum. Yum tum is an interactive theme-based board game. In this the kids make their own new path every time they play, the game is competitive which makes the kids want to play and win more. The outcome of this game was that kids started eating the food happily and excitedly without throwing any tantrums which solves the problem of children not eating all the food given to them on their plate and improving their habits and eating experience

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Why is it important?

Worldwide, India has one of the highest rates of child – which is, inadequate or not enough access to nourishing food to maintain a healthy life [1-2]. Motivating healthy eating habits in children is crucial for a kid's health and appetite. Children at the age of 3 to 5 years start developing eating habits. So not completing the given meal, not eating healthy vegetables, fruits can be a concern for parents these days as it can result in lack of nutrients for the kids and develop an undesirable habit for them. This is a significant concern if the child is not gaining weight well, or is losing weight. While for some, uneaten meals can become frustrating [3]. It might be challenging to get kids to finish their meals on a lot of days. The harder it is for parents, the pickier they get. After all, it is the responsibility of the parent to make sure that their children are getting the right amount of nutrients for growth [4]. The main causes of children refusing to eat is, they are reluctant to try something new, everyone has different taste preferences, pressuring children to eat and children trying to assert control. Not eating properly can impact negatively on children [5]. Children need a healthy, balanced diet that contains foods from every food category in order to get the wide range of nutrients they need to stay healthy. Because children's appetites change with age, growth spurts, and level of activity, it's important to serve them portions that are the right size [6-7]. Moreover, some children are sensitive to the sensory properties of food. This may increase their opportunity to distrust or dislike certain odour, flavours, and texture. And all of these phenomena are influenced by our genes [8]. The survey estimates that 53% of Indian children are not developing normally, which implies they are either stunted, wasted, overweight, or a mix of these. In India, the proportion of stunted children is over 30%. In India, around 1.6% of children are overweight or too heavy for their height. [9-10]. Below are some of our eating habits and practices followed in India that are rooted in science and promote healthy living [11]. Eating fresh and seasonal food[11]. Making sure kids eat fresh cooked meals. Making them eat salads, raw vegetables, seasonal fruits and vegetables is one of the practice Eating with your fingers [11]. Teaching children love for eating will be acquired by hands, while also improving their fine motor skills. Eating on a banana leaf [11]. This practice is mostly based on the culture aspect. Before serving, using the leaves to line the plates of your family. If not, steaming items like idlis, slices of brinjal, or fish filets that have been filled with green chutney using the leaves. Also, the leaves give the food a distinctive flavor as well. This practice can also be seen followed by many restaurants in India. Although each child has a unique manner of learning, children are at a time where they are naturally curious about the world and will absorb any information you give them. Without even tasting anything, children will occasionally refuse to eat something just because it is healthy. It could be possible to get children to prefer healthy food by giving it a little flavour and encouraging them to taste it [12]. Experts claim that good eating habits are formed early and last throughout adulthood. So, start providing nutritious food to your children right now [13-14]. So our objective with this project is to encourage healthy eating habits of preschool children at home and make sure they finish everything given to them on their plate happily .

Perspectives