Observations and Interviews
Cooking Claire
Cooking Claire is a mother three and a child psychologist. Aside from raising her own kids she has a lot of experience with elementary and middle school kids. We discussed what was hard about picking a meal for a picky child and also what could be better. Picking meals was largely trial and error, it’s hard to find something that is popular especially when there is more than one child (she had one child who only ate cheerios for a while). Nutrition is important, but its hard to get kids try things that are new or nutritious. To fix this the meals were usually separated into pieces so the child could pick the parts they liked. She ended up tailoring the meals to the children’s needs, but didn’t have a single place to hold what all of the kids liked. The most important thing for Cooking Claire was having the whole family together at the dinner table. She would do whatever she could to find a meal that everyone would like.
Claire would usually try to find something that is popular among all the kids. If the kids only liked parts of the meals, she would make new ones based on the parts they liked. Claire told us that the kids also liked being given the power (or allusion of power) of being able to pick the meals themselves.
What we learned from Claire
- It's difficult to find meals based on what ingredients kids like, especially when there are multiple kids to think about
- Kids like to have power over what they eat (to feel in control)
- Having picky children creates a lot of extra work for the parent!
Babysitter Britney
Babysitter Britney babysits kids from age 2-9 for many different families. First we interviewed her on what she did to make meals and what it was that made it difficult. The most important thing is giving the kids a choice, she said, even if it is very restricted it for them. Two choices are best since they can decide quickly.
Britney also thought it would be useful if she could know what the kids want to eat again, especially since it’s easy to forget what a kid likes if you babysit a lot of different children. To get ideas for meals, she said she would usually talk to her friends about what the kids or their friends liked in the past. According to Britney, the ideal situation would be if the kids picked a meal, she could easily find the ingredients or buy them, the kids rated the meal and then she could know what they liked or disliked for next time.
What we learned from Britney
- Kids like to be able to choose what they are going to eat
- It's easy to forget what kids like (especially when dealing with multiple kids)
Choosey Susie
Choosey Susie is a 9-year-old who goes to an elementary school in upstate New York. Her family eats together every night, but she doesn’t always like what they have for dinner. When she was younger, she used to make faces and refuse to eat certain things (and sometimes still does). Sometimes instead of complaining she makes her own food to eat, like peanut butter sandwiches. Susie is quick to judge certain foods. For instance, if she hears that anything is made of squash, she will refuse to eat it even if it tastes completely different from the foods she is used to. Susie is also very competitive, so when her two older brothers dare her, she will be more willing to try new things (although this doesn’t always work). She has certain foods that she eats all the time, and admits that she is not very adventurous.
What we learned from Susie
- Some kids are receptive to incentives/competitions for trying new foods
- Kids can get into ruts and may not know what other foods are out there
- Kids judge food for reasons other than taste, such as texture, the name, their preconceived notions, and how it looks
User Classes
Parents/babysitters/caretakers
This class includes parents, babysitters, relatives, teachers, or anyone who takes care of children and has to feed them at some point. Just like Claire and Britney, these users have the difficult task of preparing meals for children. A lot is at stake for them, including the happiness of the children and whether or not their food will even get eaten. If they deal with the same children repeatedly, they also have to try to remember what the kids liked and didn't like, and figure out what they can cook for them.
Children 5-10 years old
These are the children (only child or sibling), and the ones that need nutritious food most of all. They like to have control over what they eat, and can be very choosey. They don't always know what foods are even out there, and make snap judgments on what they like even if they have never had it before.
Needs and Goals
Parents/babysitters/caretakers
- Need some way of keeping track of what their kids like/don't like
- Want to be able to tailor meals to multiple kids if necessary
- Would like some way of getting their kids to try new foods
- Want some help in finding new meals that fit what their kids like
- Want to give their kids some control over what they are going to eat, so they will be more likely to eat it
Children
- Want to have control over what they eat
- Don't want to be forced into trying anything
- If they don't like something, they don't want to eat it again
- Wish their parents would stop making things they don't like