The USDA is working on an app to help kids learn the importance of eating better.
Parents may be able to get their kids to eat their vegetables a little easier with the new Kiddio: Food Fight! app from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded scientists and their colleagues.
The interactive game, still in development, will give parents of preschoolers a fun way to learn some of the best approaches to getting kids to eat their veggies along with short, interactive episodes that feature Kiddio, a preschooler who doesn’t like vegetables. Parents can even customize Kiddio’s personality to better match that of their child.
In the course of each episode, parents will be able to select multiple options for influencing Kiddio's eating habits. Some choices create effective, "teachable moments," such as when the parent says, "That's a really tasty veggie." Other choices may express a perhaps ineffective "firm discipline" approach in which the parent tells Kiddio, "You will taste it before you leave the table!"
Check back for more updates on when the app will be available for download.