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If dinner time is always a battle with your children, don’t worry you’re not alone as eight out of 10 parents struggle with fussy eaters.
Parents find themselves tearing their hair out over trying to get their kids to eat more than just pizza and pasta at meal times, with 74 percent of parents wishing they could inspire their kids to eat a more exciting and varied diet and try new food, new research shows.
The study, which involved more than 1,000 parents of children aged up to 13, found that one in three parents are exhausted by ‘stressful’ and ‘frustrating’ mealtimes. They try all the old tricks from threatening to withhold dessert (41%) and even the classic airplane move (26%) to entice their littles to eat up. Half of those surveyed (50%) admitted that their child’s picky eating tendencies can be so challenging that puts them off from eating out at restaurants.
In light of the new research, Play-Doh, is launching a family dining experience with a twist. The Play-Doh Restaurant of Imagination will invite families to create pretend Play-Doh meals using its new Busy Chef’s Restaurant play set and watch them be transformed into real-life meals for the whole family.
It comes as over half (53%) of parents found that getting their kids involved in helping to choose what’s on the menu meant that their children were less picky, while nearly a third (32%) stated that involving kids in the preparation process helped.
However, the research also revealed that it’s not just picky eating causing the drama at mealtimes, with other bugbears including having to cook different meals for different family members (31%), tantrums at the dinner table (20%), and having to juggle food prep whilst keeping a watchful eye on the kids (20%).
During half-term, kids will be able to decide what’s for lunch as they create fantastical meals out of Play- Doh using the brand’s new Busy Chef’s Kitchen set. These colourful creations will then be taken by real-life chefs and made into edible and nutritious meals on-site, in a bid to battle the beige.
The Play-Doh Restaurant of Imagination will be open for one day only on Friday October 27 in London.