No Rules, Just a Healthy Routine Help your kids choose right

Niyati Mehta is a New York-based behavioural designer and digital design professor, who is also the brainchild behind ‘Nudging for Kids’, a project where she develops effective and attractive visual nudges for adults and children in the U.S. and across different parts of the globe.

- Niyati Mehta

“Oh, no, mum! Not rice and gravy again? Let’s order pizza,” my 21 year-old daughter, Serena said to me earlier this week, taking me back to when she was a child and wanted a slice of pizza for dinner, every day of the week! Her gummy bear obsession at age three, her potato chips phase at age five, or the endless diet fads she followed as a teen—I have so many childhood memories of her and my son, mostly associated with their food habits. And of course, I also remember my rising anxiety levels, the constant worry about whether or not I was feeding them enough nutritious, wholesome food. Due to the pandemic, my children are back home after being away for several years, and even now, I can’t help but offer them both fruits, salads, nuts, or endless healthy snacking options between meals. And though I do get exasperated reminders from the both of them about them being grownups, it hasn’t dissuaded me at all from being a mum. Isn’t that how it is with us mums? We are always continually striving to ensure that our children, however old they may be, make nutritious food choices. But for mamas with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, this struggle is a tad tougher with the added pressure of teaching children the correct eating habits that could last a lifetime.