Playful Learning Paired with Age-Appropriate Educational Reinforcement Can Affect the Food choice of Pre-K Children in a Simulated Grocery Shopping Activity

This study tested the benefits of a six-week, age-appropriate nutrition education program directed toward the food choices of Pre-K children ages 3 to 5 years. While it is well known that children learn through play, the researchers investigated the utility of play in teaching Pre-K children to make wise food choices. A mock grocery store was created and equipped with a child-sized shopping cart, play money, and child-sized cash register along with a wide selection of foods typically found in a supermarket. A classic pretest/posttest design was used in which each child was given a chance to “shop” and select any five items of their choice. The pretest shopping experience was followed by a six-week nutrition education program delivered in the form of puppets, stories, songs, and discussions of good foods and “sometime foods”. Following the nutrition education program, the children were again given the chance to “shop” and select five items of their choice. Pretest and posttest food choices were evaluated for any potential trends or changes in the children's food choices.