Why my five-year-old is helping with my PhD thesis on nutrition

Vancouver Sun

Opinion: My thesis is on food marketing to kids and every time we go to a grocery store together, I see that colourful, cartoon-heavy marketing at work

My five-year-old daughter is helping me with my PhD thesis. I wish she didn’t have to.

No, she’s not a prodigy — even if she is very clever — and I’m not that desperate for assistance. She just happens to be a subject matter expert.

My thesis in nutrition is on food marketing to kids and every time we go to a grocery store together, I see that marketing at work. She is drawn like a magnet to the colourful, cartoon-heavy packages of appealing treats — almost all of them laden with saturated fat, sugar and/or salt and minimal nutritional value. Read more.