I don’t know whether it’s just the children I have been around that like ketchup or it’s all the children. But from my experience kids put ketchup on everything!
I never really knew why until I read an article that got me interested in the topic. Then I went through several other articles and a book, to find out there’s actually a psychological attachment to it.
Let me take you to a different world then we will relate the two.
Naturally, animals have a smart survival instinct that states:
“If you don’t know it, it’s probably harmful, stay away from it”
If an antelope see a yellowish brown-furred cat, about four feet tall, maybe with a furry mane that runs around the neck and says, “Hmm, that’s strange. Let me get close to it and say hie”. That antelope will end a Lion’s meal.
Now how does that relate to children and ketchup?
I’m glad you ask. You see, humans naturally have this instinct as well. We believe if it’s familiar it is probably safe because it didn’t kill us the first time.
The same thing with children, if they’re eating something they have never eaten before they probably think it’s not a good thing.
So what can they do to make it less strange?
Why not add ketchup to the food, make it more familiar. Interesting, isn’t it?
This not only applies to kids and tomato sauce but it also explains why you have a problem adjusting to new things. It’s pretty human.
However not everything that’s new is harmful, so sometimes we need to fight this instinct and get used to new things as well.
Change is inevitable.
P.S: This is the first article to a series I call “Your psychologist”. I’m very interested in finding out why people behave the way they do and why they make the decisions they make. There is more to come 🙂
-Wangisani Kumalakwaanthu
