Children younger than three have already acquired the specific prejudices of their parents.
Monash University’s Associate Professor Kerry O’Brien said the findings indicate anti-fat prejudices are socially learned and children are picking up on them at a younger age than previously thought.
The anti-fat sentiments of the children studied had a “high correlation” to their mothers expressing those attitudes in a questionnaire carried out with the research.
“…the child’s mind can acquire culture at a much earlier age than has been generally supposed.” Attitudes, dispositions, preferences, everything that is culture is absorbed by the child from her environment.