The Eating Behavior and Food Preference of Preschool Children in Sungnam Day Care Facilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the eating behavior and food preference of preschool children in day care facilities. Subjects of this study were 192 young children who lived in Sungnam city, Gyeonggi-Do. The results are summarized as follows: The parents reported that 34% of the children ate 'unbalanced diet'. And 16% of the children ate small portions of food. The parents picked up several reasons for their children's 'unbalanced diet' such as 'dislike of the tastes(29.2%), 'texture in the mouth(28.6%)', 'smell of food(18.2%)' Fifty-six percent of parents took 'to change the cooking methods' as the best way to make their children have good eating habits in their home. The highest score of preference among the children was noodles with bean sauce and kimbab for staple food, stews seaweed soup for soups and stews, bulgogi and fried chicken for side dish. The young children's preference score fur side dish made with meats were higher than made with vegetables. This study made a suggestion to parents of children ages 4 to 6 and to teachers in preschool that they prepare for foods made with vegetables.