Shocking reality check

[everdream78]

I volunteered to help run a half-term youth group in a deprived area of my city over this half term, so I decided to run a session around healthy eating and got funding to buy smoothie makers and juicers and got local greengrocers to donate fruit and veg.

To start the session off, I asked for a show of hands for who ate fruit and veg on a regular basis - would you credit it, not a single child put their hands up!

Then I showed them various pieces of fruit and asked them to shout out what it was - to my shock and horror, three of the children didn't know what a banana was! None of them had ever eaten a mango either, so I chopped one up and passed it round (hence my post about growing one!)

You know, by the end of the session, all of the kids had been up to make juices or smoothies at least twice and were all raving about how cool fruit is!

So tomorrow, I'm running a grow your own session and I'm going to get them to plant various things to take home a nuture and the youth centre where I'm based has kindly let us use the garden area to turn in a veggie patch!

[SarzWix]

That is shocking, but good on you for volunteering. You should be well chuffed with yourself, knowing you have undoubtedly made a difference
I used to volunteer at a 'drop-in-centre' in our village, but the other helpers gradually stopped & there ended up being only 3 of us left so the place got closed. Now the whole village moans & grumbles about the teenagers hanging round outside the local shop

[moggssue]

That's dreadful Everdream - good job someone is doing something about it though, good on you girl!

[HeyWayne]

Excellent work everdream, good on you lass.

My cousin's wife is a teacher and she has an allotment (not far from piskie). Their two little girls will eat almost anything - well, they at least try it - but that's because they've been exposed to different things, fruits, veg, etc etc.

She was telling me how they will sometimes have a "tasting day" at the school and they invite the parents to come along to taste with the children. She says that it's shocking the amount of times that a child will pick something up that they want to taste and the parent will say something like "oh, you won't like that" Well of course they won't if you tell them to!!!!

Keep up the good work everdream, I think it's fantastic what you're doing!

[Nicos]

Well done everdream
The world needs more people like you

[bluemoon]

Sadly I'm not in the least surprised. These days it's far too easy to stick a pizza in the oven and leave it at that. I admit that there are occasions when a quick ready-meal is handy, but these should be the exceptions rather than the rule. A local children's project has taken over a lottie on my mum's site and they are teaching the parents to grow their own. As far as I'm aware so far not one parent has actually taken on an allotment on the strength of this, but they could be using their own gardens or other sites I suppose. And at least they are being exposed to the idea of fruit and veg which they might then go out and buy and I think that the project allows them to take the produce home.
I don't know if it's just that many parents have no idea about healthy eating or if it's just that they don't care. When I was raising my family fruit was expensive, but we still managed to ensure that our kids had what they needed. Today I can fill my (large) fruit-bowl at the local supermarket for less than five pounds so even cost shouldn't be a factor now. Unfortunately I think much of it is to do with laziness on the part of the parents, after all it isn't really the child's fault that they don't know what a banana is if they've never been given one in the first place.
If these children don't learn about healthy eating then, when they're older and have a family of their own, they won't have a clue as to how to feed their own kids - so well done for breaking the cycle everdream.

[Sue]

It's one thing not to recognise a banana if you've never eaten one but what chills me is the lack of curiousity and wanting to find out about things. People eat bananas in the street, they're on display in greengrocers, you could see them in books (B is for ....) - films, TV, how can you not know?

I remember once having a work experience girl in the bookshop where I worked and we were stocktaking and she came to Shakespeare and read out Henry vee eye and it transpired she didn't know Roman numerals, didn't even know what they were, hadn't heard of Shakespeare, didn't know who Henry VI was etc etc. I had to go and lie down for a bit to recover.

And the saddest thing of all was when I went to help out in the school where my sister worked at the time and the new littlest ones didn't even have the concept of an open book, if you watched them it was just a square or an oblong "thing" to them, the idea of an inside to it all, and delights within was totally lost on them and they had to be taught about pages etc.
Sue

[Seahorse]

Shocking and also really sad! I'm not a paragon of virtue and I'm sure my kids diet isn't perfect but it's hard to see a good reason why any child of mainstream ability wouldn't even recognise a piece of fruit, let alone have tasted it Well done Everdream for doing your bit!

[MrsC]

well done everdream, don't think it is only deprived areas that this applies to. by law children in primary education (foundation and ks1) are given each afternoon a selection of fresh fruit/veg what was the age range of the children who attended your group? Got to agree with Sue's comment on watching TV etc Keep up the good work!

[MrsC]

sorry forgot to add, what was the ratio of children who didn't know what a banana was to the ratio who did?

[Two_Sheds]

We have tasting days at our school (paid for out of the teachers or teaching assistant's own pocket, I should add). Our year 2 children didn't know humans could eat cabbage - they insisted it was only for rabbits. Really.

We had several new things last week: mozzarella, olives, pineapple, anchovies etc. One chatterbox boy put his hand up for some pineapple - we put it on his plate. He poked it, looked suspicious, sniffed it, and declared: "smells like pineapple" !!! I guess he'd only ever had it as a flavouring, never the fresh fruit.

As for free fruit, yes the children up to year 2 (seven year olds) have a piece each day. Many of them won't touch it - it goes in the bin. Some of them will struggle to eat an apple with wobbly teeth, and give up. Sadly, we don't have the time or staff to slice the apples up.

We had a big health drive last term, with only healthy snacks allowed. It started off great, everyone bringing in fruit, salad or raisins. Sadly it has dwindled so that barely one apple core per class shows up in the compost bin. The parents really really couldn't give a stuff. They can't be bothered. It's not down to cost, its sheer laziness.

[samw04]

I'm very lucky if you ask my 4 yr old if she wants mcdonalds or roast she wants roast, she has been know to do the chair stacking thing and steal cherry toms out of the fridge from next to choc / cakes. My 2 yr old son will have a temper tantrum because i wont let him have 3 pieces of fruit in one sitting (its the nappy thing) and his twin sis will go round scrounging left over veg when all have finish dinner. they do like sweets but they are so happy eating fruit for a snack or treat they only really have them when they go to nannys. oh and then there is the 13 yr old that wont eat anything that looks like it might be healthy for her.

[SueA]

I really do find it shocking that children don't know what fruit & veg. are nowadays. Perhaps the schemes run by the RHS & others to get school kids growing & eating will have some impact. Good on you Everdream for making a start!

[cottage garden]

I'm very lucky if you ask my 4 yr old if she wants mcdonalds or roast she wants roast, she has been know to do the chair stacking thing and steal cherry toms out of the fridge from next to choc / cakes. My 2 yr old son will have a temper tantrum because i wont let him have 3 pieces of fruit in one sitting (its the nappy thing) and his twin sis will go round scrounging left over veg when all have finish dinner. they do like sweets but they are so happy eating fruit for a snack or treat they only really have them when they go to nannys. oh and then there is the 13 yr old that wont eat anything that looks like it might be healthy for her.

A 13 year old, a 4 year old and twin 3yearolds!! and you still have time for gardening!! WOW

[Alison]

Then I showed them various pieces of fruit and asked them to shout out what it was - to my shock and horror, three of the children didn't know what a banana was! None of them had ever eaten a mango either, so I chopped one up and passed it round (hence my post about growing one!)

I wouldn't necessarily worry that kids couldn't identify mangoes, remember the first time I saw one was somewhere abroad when I was about 16. They're a pretty expensive fruit (despite loving the taste I don't buy them from one year to the next) and there are plenty of other options. More surprised about the bananas, although neither is native, bananas have been here for a long time (although apparently my mum tried to eat one with the skin on when my nan managed to get hold of some just after the last war!). I know some of the more exotic fruits are nice but as I said they can be expensive and obviously need to be imported, children (and adults) need to get used to our native crops which if bought in season can be very good value.