Latest advice for despairing parents ... bribe children to eat their greens!

IT might sound like bribery but a leading obesity campaigner has suggested paying children to eat their greens.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum charity, believes putting small amounts of money into a bank account in exchange for a child eating vegetables could be an effective solution to the nation’s obesity crisis.

He said: ‘Green vegetables have a bitter taste to children but they must understand from an early age that not everything is sweet. Any reward you might offer them to eat their vegetables must be something of value. Money is always a good incentive.

‘It is a tangible reward for children eating their vegetables but allows them to understand the value of money and how to save it for later in life. It is also a way of introducing them to another aspect of growing up and becoming responsible.’

Mr Fry’s proposal would include teaching children to keep their own accounting books to manage their money.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, he added: ‘If the children eat their vegetables and accu- mulate enough money, they could then buy themselves a small gift.’

Under no circumstances, however, should parents use junk food as an inducement, he said, adding: ‘Give them a pop CD, buy them a season ticket, or give them money so they can buy themselves a gift. But do not give them food.’

Official figures suggest the average child in England is eating three times the maximum recommended levels. One in ten British pupils are obese when they start primary school and one in five by the time they leave.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, has warned that parents are doing lasting damage by failing to limit the problem. He said: ‘As a society, as parents, we are doing something terribly wrong in terms of the way in which we are supporting and bringing up the next generation.’