Lights, Music, Stamps! Evaluating Mealtime Tangibles for Preschoolers

We present an evaluation of three prototype tangible user interfaces (TUIs) for mealtimes for preschoolers. Building on past work identifying value tensions between adults' and children's perspectives at meals, we evaluated TUIs to address different tensions in this context (for example, the tension between children's interest in experimenting with food versus adults' interest in cleanliness). Thirteen pre-school children and their parents tried out the prototypes, as did an additional seven preschool teachers. Adults and children alike were excited by the prototypes; parents were surprised by children's increased food intake, and children used the prototypes to engage in artistic expression with food traces. However, children's increased consumption was extrinsically motivated by the prototypes rather than intrinsically motivated by hunger. We conclude that TUIs have the potential to enhance shared meals between children and adults but also have the potential to distract or persuade children in inappropriate ways. We present design guidance differentiating these two outcomes, such as incorporating the TUI into pre-existing mealtime objects and routines.