We have been told by the Bible…”Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”This is good advice that can be scientifically proven to be true.
How early is it for children to learn?….My answer is…it is never too early.
The sense of taste, smell, touch and the knowledge of right and wrong starts developing in children from when they are babies. The taste and discipline they know as babies, will stay with them as they grow older. This is why it is good to train them to live healthy and safe from a tender age. In my opinion no matter their age, they will learn and without realizing it, it becomes their default setting (the norm).
The assumption that they will only take the sweet stuff is not completely right. For example, a study recently conducted in the USA has proven that children age 1-6 will find at-least 3 types of cereals with reduced sugar that they like or love when given 6 of those types to choose from.The same study showed that children would be more receptive of the cereal if fruits and/or a teaspoon of sugar was added to the cereal. Even with adding table sugar, the cereal contains more than half less sugar than the sugary cereal, and so is a better option for the child.
We can all agree that our bodies adapt to a particular routine, so does our taste buds and these things become habits that are ingrained in us. Teaching children about safe and healthy habits even in their diet might just be the thing they need to grow into responsible adults that have a higher chance of living a healthful life.
The only cost to the adult is getting the right knowledge and leading by example and that isn’t really a cost because you as an adult also need to be healthy and safe. I say right knowledge because knowledge founded on myths and assumptions, do us no good.