Racist toddlers - whatever next?

July 16th, 2008

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read an article in The Telegraph reporting that ‘Toddlers who turn their noses up at spicy food from overseas could be branded racists’.

If that is the case then I am very ashamed to say that I was racist up until I was about 18 years old when I became more open to foreign foods. Before then I would be put off by the smell of certain foods and would only ever like very mild tastes. Now it is a different story.

The revelation has come from The National Children’s Bureau which received £12 million a year from mainly Government funded organisations. Play leaders and nursery teachers have been issued with documents advising them to ‘be alert for racist incidents among youngsters in their care’. This could include something simple like a toddler saying ‘yuk’ when being served an unfamiliar food.

Presumably each nursery teacher or play leader that hears a comment like this would need to document this in order to report back to their local council. What the council will do with this information is anyone’s guess. Children’s eating habits are largely down to their home environment and the food that they have been given at home. If a child hasn’t had certain foreign foods before then they are likely to turn their nose up at it as it will be unfamiliar. It’s what children do. It is good to introduce children to new foods and tastes but surely it is more important that the child has a good balanced diet and parents don’t feel pressurised into introducing new foods all the time.

Personally I would rather that teachers were left to concentrate on more important aspects of a child’s development like their reading, writing and arithmetic and not be bogged down in yet more unnecessary form filling.

Entry Filed under: children, food