Overweight is increasing in children, leading to negative health consequences. Children also lack appropriate levels of important vitamins and nutrients in their diets. Environmental cues, such as food proximity, have been shown to influence consumption rates in adults. The present study has tested whether proximity to either a nutrient-dense or caloric-dense food would influence children's snack consumption in a day care setting. Children (N = 46, age range 3.4-11) consumed more of both nutrient- and energy-dense foods when they are sitting closer to the food than if they are sitting farther away from the food, above and beyond the effects of age. The data indicate that it may be possible to increase the consumption of nutrient-dense foods or decrease the consumption of energy-dense foods, respectively, by modifying the proximity of such foods within a child's environment.

Children's social interactions are often dependent upon the setting or context in which they occur. The current study explored the school bus as a unique context for social interaction. One hundred and fifty-seven elementary school students (78 males and 79 females), in grades 3, 4, and 5, completed a questionnaire concerning the rate and types of prosocial and aggressive behaviors that occur on the school bus ride. Overall, findings indicated that students were prosocial more often on the school bus than they were aggressive. Regarding the types of social behaviors, differences found in the current study were distinctive. Participants mentioned non-traditionally studied prosocial behaviors (e.g., companionship and benevolence) more often than traditionally studied behaviors (e.g., sharing and helping). In addition, participants mentioned physical aggression more often among their female peers than among their male peers. This study reveals the importance of context in understanding children's social behaviors. It is concluded that the present results have important implications for the school bus context and for future research on children's social interactions.

Caregivers often struggle with food neophobia on the part of young children. This study examined whether labeling novel healthy foods with fun names would increase children's willingness to try those foods and encourage them to eat more of those foods in a child care setting. Thirty-nine toddler and preschool age children (mean age = 3.9 years) were served each of three foods twice, once labeled with a fun name and once with a healthy name. Percentage of the food consumed by each child was recorded. Overall, children ate a greater percentage of the target foods when they were labeled with fun names. Also, a larger percentage of the children tasted the foods when they were labeled with fun names. This simple strategy could be effective for increasing consumption of healthy foods among young children.