StoryEcho: A Generative Child-as-Actor Storytelling System for Picky-Eating Intervention

TL;DR

StoryEcho is a novel storytelling system that actively involves children in picky eating interventions through personalized stories, improving their willingness to try new foods and reducing parental pressure.

Contribution

It introduces a generative child-as-actor storytelling approach for home-based picky eating intervention, extending beyond mealtime interactions.

Findings

Children showed increased willingness to try target foods.

Parents experienced reduced pressure during feeding.

System demonstrated potential for repeated family routine interventions.

Abstract

Picky eating in children can undermine dietary diversity and the development of healthy eating habits, while also creating recurring tension in family feeding routines. Prior interventions have explored food-centered designs, enhanced utensils, and mealtime interactive systems, but few position children as active participants in intervention processes that extend beyond single mealtime interactions. To better understand everyday responses to picky eating and child-acceptable intervention mechanisms, we conducted a formative study with caregivers and kindergarten teachers. Based on the resulting design considerations and iterative stakeholder review, we designed StoryEcho, a generative child-as-actor storytelling system for picky eating intervention. StoryEcho engages children outside mealtimes through personalized stories in which the child appears as a persistent story character and later shapes story development through real-world food-related behavior. The system combines non-mealtime story engagement, lightweight post-meal feedback, and behavior-informed story updates to support repeated intervention across everyday family routines. We evaluated StoryEcho in a between-group field study with 11 families of preschool children. Results provide preliminary evidence that StoryEcho can significantly increase children's willingness to approach and try target low-preference foods while reducing parental pressure around feeding. These findings suggest the promise of generative child-as-actor storytelling as a design approach for home-based behavior support that unfolds through recurring family routines.