Children's Food Perception and Decision-Making

Children’s food perception and decision-making emerge from the interplay of sensory experience, cognitive appraisal and socio-environmental influences. From infancy, repeated exposure to flavours, textures and visual cues shapes preferences through familiarisation, observational learning and associative processes. As children grow, they develop both implicit attitudes—automatic affective responses—and explicit attitudes—deliberate beliefs about health and taste—that guide choice. Conceptual knowledge of food, encompassing taxonomic categories (for example, fruits versus vegetables), thematic associations (for instance, milk with breakfast) and value-laden evaluations (such as “gives strength”), further informs acceptance or rejection. Individual differences in food neophobia, parental modelling, peer influence and marketing environments converge to affect decisions at home, in schools and in broader food systems. A systems perspective emphasises how personal preferences interact with supply-chain factors, policy interventions and educational strategies. Understanding these interconnections is essential to fostering dietary variety, promoting healthy habits and empowering children to make informed, pleasurable and health-supportive food choices.

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Children's Food Perception and Decision-Making publication trend

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Technical terms

Free sorting task: A method in which individuals group items (such as food pictures) according to perceived similarity or category.

Cognitive salience index: A measure of how readily items come to mind within a category, reflecting their prominence in memory.

Implicit attitude: An automatic, affect-based response toward a stimulus, assessed without direct questioning.

Explicit attitude: A conscious belief or evaluation about a stimulus, expressed through deliberate judgement.

Food neophobia: The tendency to reject or avoid novel or unfamiliar foods, often peaking in early childhood.

References

1. Reasons Behind (Un)Healthy Eating Among School-Age Children in Southern Peru. Foods (2025).
2. Bringing down barriers to children's healthy eating: a critical review of opportunities, within a complex food system.. Nutrition Research Reviews (2023).
3. How Infants and Young Children Learn About Food: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Psychology (2017).
4. Development of children’s implicit and explicit attitudes toward healthy food: Personal and environmental factors. Appetite (2022).
5. Early Conceptual Knowledge About Food. Review of Philosophy and Psychology (2024).