Half of teens have no idea how to cook, say parents.
The issue of what we eat, when we eat is a big issue in our family today and when I think back to the crap we gave our kids when they were little, well …. it could have been a lot better without beating ourselves up too much.
This sort of article always catch my eye because the issue of children, kids and obesity is a huge concern for any family. Here’s an article published in Melbourne’s Herald Sun on Saturday 27th Oct, 2018 and appeared on page 19 written and researched by Lanai Scarr, check it out and leave a comment below on your experiences.
Anyway the article says ….
AUSSIE teens are clueless in the kitchen and it is impacting their health and leading our next generation towards higher rates of obesity.
The findings of a national survey include: › CLOSE to half of all 12 to 18-year-olds can’t boil an egg; › ONE in five only have kitchen skills that allow them to pour milk on cereal; › 42 per cent can’t boil pasta; › ALMOST 84 per cent don’t know how to roast a chicken; › 60 PER CENT can’t bake a potato and; › ALMOST 46 per cent couldn’t confidently follow a recipe to completion.
The findings from research company Pureprofile can be revealed exclusively by the Herald Sun and have been correlated from a national survey of 1006 parents.
Parents were asked to assess how well their kids could perform in the kitchen across a range of parameters.
More than half (67.3 per cent) of parents believe their children could do better when it comes to healthy food and lifestyle knowledge.
Close to half of parents (42.5 per cent) believe poor food choices are caused by lack of education at secondary school, with nine in 10 parents in support of schools doing more to promote healthy lifestyle.
One in four Australian children under the age of 18 is considered overweight or obese, with Australia the fifth most obese nation in the world according to the OECD. Those numbers will grow if we don’t teach children healthy food choices, according to experts.
Miriam Raleigh, nutritionist with Child Nutrition, said she was already seeing a generation of young parents who had “no idea how to cook”.
“They rely on convenience meals and easy snacks and the reality is those foods often have a higher fat and salt content, which can lead to obesity but also a range of cardiovascular and health issues,” Ms Raleigh said.
Australian Medical Association President Tony Bartone said the findings relating to kids lack of kitchen knowledge was “very concerning”.
“There is no doubt that if these trends continue (of childhood obesity) levels can only continue to increase,” Dr Bartone said.
“Health literacy, especially around nutrition, is crucial both in adequate healthy lifestyle management and prevention of obesity and associated lifestyle diseases.”
Alice Zaslavsky, former Master Chef contestant and creator of Phenomenom, said perhaps parents had underestimated their kids’ skills.
“Sometimes parents of teenagers can set their expectations of their teens lower than what they are actually capable of. Maybe we need to give kids more credit,” Ms Zaslavsky said.
Chef and Kitchen Garden founder Stephanie Alexander said that if more was not done we would head towards a generation of fatter, more unhealthy kids.
Alexander said parents needed to step up but so did government.
On Monday, Alexander will launch a pilot of her hugely successful Kitchen Garden program into secondary schools, so teenagers can learn how to grow and cook food.
“I’m so proud of what we have achieved in the primary school sector and I really believe we can have the same success in secondary schools.”
