After my daughter was born in Tokyo, my husband and I began to discuss what type of childcare we’d want for her once I returned to work. After touring a few facilities, we settled on sending her to hoikuen , or Japanese day care. As Americans, we were eager for her to have an opportunity to learn Japanese from native speakers, as well as other cultural customs that would allow her to adapt and enjoy growing up here.
While much of our motivation to send her to hoikuen came from a desire for her to learn Japanese, I quickly found that the knowledge she gained from day care was more than just language-related. In addition to social customs and independent life skills, she and her peers learned about food, nutrition and proper eating behavior from the communal meals and snacks served each day. One thing that stood out to me as a dietitian was the apparent lack of picky eating among her classmates.
While I had heard that rates of picky eating were low in Japan, I was able to observe this firsthand during a parent observation day at my daughter’s hoikuen. When lunch was served, I was surprised at how enthusiastically the children ate, even when served foods like vegetables. Seeing the children embrace a wide variety of nutritious foods made me reflect on how different my experience was when observing students eating lunch back in America.
If you struggle with picky eating in your household, consider using the following Japanese day care-inspired tips to increase food acceptance.
