Apparently children aren’t inundated enough with health advice from their schools, parents, and their government. Now custom vending machines are popping up dishing out advice too. And maybe that’s a good thing since many children and parents alike still don’t seem to understand the importance of healthy food choice. In Utah, the Intermountain Healtcare setup fake vending machines in elementary schools. The machines are filled with fake snacks that do not dispense. Nor will it rob your child of his lunch money.
Instead, when the buttons are pushed, the machine offers bits of wisdom to promote healthy eating and turn your child’s viewpoints around when it comes to snacking. Although said in a fun way, you can’t ignore the scary advice of the machine, “I’m a vending machine and can’t move without someone’s help. Keep buying food like this and we’ll have that in common.” Funny, but true. The purpose is to create a fun and interactive way to tell your kids to stop eating those chocolate bars and to lay off the cans of soda.
It’s a clever idea and maybe we’ll soon see these custom vending machines giving health advice to kids popping up over the rest of the country. The more innovative ways we can teach children about making good food decisions, the better. Take a look at the machine in action.
