“Eveil aux senteurs” project

Feeling well to learn well, to eat well, to grow well

“Eveil aux senteurs” research project is coordinated by Maryse Delaunay, Senior Lecturer in Child Development Psychology at the University of Caen Normandie, and a member of the Caen Normandie Laboratory of Psychology (LPCN UR 7452).

This research is public and not for profit.

Aims

The aim of the “Eveil aux senteurs” project is to awaken children in crèches to the scents of everyday life, in order to study the effect of such sensory awakening on learning, the development of eating habits and growth.

Description of developmental trajectories in the “crèche ecosystem”

Longitudinal monitoring of children in crèches will be carried out between the ages of 8 months and 32 months. The children will be introduced to scents during regular play workshops. They will be filmed before, during and after each stimulation cycle. Observation of target behaviours displayed by the children during the various observation sessions carried out in the crèche will enable their developmental trajectories to be described.

Impact

Getting infants to pay attention to scents during regular play workshops should motivate children to smell, to learn to recognise the scents and aromas of fruit and vegetables, to eat them, and consequently to grow up well.

Budget

4,000 euros.

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Innovative applied research

The ‘Eveil aux senteurs’ project is studying developmental processes from an integrative bio-psycho-socio-cultural perspective.

Aside from the rare study of developmental trajectories from 8 to 32 months, using the olfactory sense to support the learning of young children is still uncommon in France.

Analysis of the interactions during the playful early-learning workshops will also be a rich source of information for better identifying the factors involved in preventing eating difficulties.

In short, the ‘Eveil aux senteurs’ project is part of applied research. The knowledge gained from this research will be easily communicated to professionals and parents of young children to help them better prevent the development of eating disorders.

Ethical considerations

The favourable opinion of the local ethics committee and a personal protection committee has been obtained, as the research protocol and organisation comply with ethical rules and the General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD).

Scientific and social context

For a long time, the sense of smell was classed as a secondary sense, because it was described as atrophied and independent of language and reasoning in humans. The myth of the ‘microsmate’ human being, i.e. one who makes little use of his sense of smell on a daily basis, is now a thing of the past (Mc Ghann, 2017). Scientific studies highlighting the early functioning of olfaction and its involvement in exploration, learning, memory and eating habits have proliferated over the last 50 years (Delaunay-El Allam et al., 2006; 2010; Kotska & Bitzenhofer, 2022; Holley, 1999; Salesse & Gervais, 2012; Schaal, 1988).

Western cultures rely heavily on screens, and neglect the importance of olfaction, as evidenced by school curricula devoid of olfactory education. However, humans from non-Western ethnic groups, such as the Semelais in Malaysia, learn to use all their senses to evolve in their environment. They are able to recognise and name smells as well as colours, unlike Europeans (Majid, 2017). In short, they have a sense of smell and they talk to each other about it. In this case, our children should be able to learn to make good use of their sense of smell, as well as their other senses, if they grow up within a socio-cultural matrix that guides them along this path.

Education and public health issues

Between the ages of 2-3 and 6-7, 75% of children sort the food on their plate, refuse to taste it and negotiate to eat only what they prefer (Rigal, 2000). Many parents find it difficult to feed their child and ask for help simply because they perceive their child as difficult, and not because the child has a somatic eating disorder (Kerzner et al., 2015). However, the olfactory system is a learning development pathway that plays a major role in the development of food preferences (Schaal & Soussignan, 2008; Delaunay-El Allam et al., 2006; 2010). We know, for example, that repeating olfactory experiences encourages the taste buds to try foods containing unknown odours (Nicklaus et al., 2019).

Introducing children to the scents of a variety of foods, fruit and vegetables at an early age, through shared play activities, should be a motivating factor in attracting young children’s attention to the pleasure of smelling, discovering and tasting healthy foods before they develop eating habits that are difficult to regulate. In this way, the ‘Eveil aux senteur’ project not only meets an educational challenge, but also a public health one.

Different “ecosystems” of crèches

The observations and early-learning workshops will be carried out in different crèches. Four crèches will be involved: two from the Cap Enfants crèche network and two from the Centre Petite Enfance at Caen University.

A gradual awakening

During their stay in the crèche over a period of 2 years, children will be offered a series of early-learning cycles tailored to their level of sensorimotor, social-emotional and language development. For each learning cycle, individual observation of children exposed to different scents will be carried out before and after sensory learning during fun workshops. Each observation and workshop will be filmed.

Rigorous observation of relevant behaviour

Transportable, discreet, remotely controllable equipment and visio software (Noldus) for synchronising shots will be used to record behaviour on video. This equipment is compatible with the Observer software, which will be used to annotate, measure and illustrate behaviour in response to fruit or vegetable scents. Analysis of target behaviours during each intervention cycle will enable individual development trajectories to be drawn up.

An estimate of several development factors.

The children’s parents will be asked to complete a number of questionnaires to assess their child’s dietary repertoire and eating difficulties.

A scientific rationale

By comparing the developmental trajectories of children in different crèches, with different teams of professionals and a different educational programme, we will be able to estimate the influence of the proposed introduction to scents, taking into account other developmental factors, on changes in the exploratory and eating behaviour of young children.

Delaunay-El Allam, M., Marlier, L. & Schaal, B. (2010). Long-lasting memory for an odor acquired at the mother’s breast. Developmental Science, 13 (6), 849-863.

Delaunay-El Allam, M., Marlier, L. & Schaal, B. (2006). Learning at the breast: preference formation for an artificial scent and its attraction against the odor of maternal milk. Infant Behavior & Development, 29 (3), 308-321.

Kerzner, Milano, MacLean, Berall, Stuart, & Chatoor. A Practical Approach to Classifying and Managing Feeding Difficulties. Pediatrics, 135 (2), 2015.

Kotska & Bitzenhofer, 2022. How the sense of smell influences cognition throughout life. Neuroforum, 28 (3), 2022.

Holley, L’éloge de l’odorat, Odile Jacob, 1999.

Le Guérer, Les pouvoirs de l’odeur, Odile Jacob, 2002.

Mc Ghann, Poor human olfaction is a 19th-century myth, Science, 356, (6338), 2017.

Nicklaus, S., Schwartz, C., Monnery-Patris, S., & Issanchou, S. (2019). Early Development of Taste and Flavor Preferences and Consequences on Eating Behavior. Nestle Nutrition Institute Workshop Series, 91, 1‑10. https://doi.org/10.1159/000493673

Salesse & Gervais, Odorat et goût, Editions Quae, 2012.

Schaal, Olfaction in infants and children: developmental and functional perspectives, Chemical Senses, 13(2), 1988.

Schaal & Soussignan, L’enfant face aux aliments, Enfance, 3, 2008.

Bibliographical resources