Getting Your Children to Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Stop worrying! Dinner time doesn’t need to be a battle of wills between well-meaning parents and their veggie-phobic children. By following a few simple techniques, parents can ensure that their children eat more fruits and vegetables.
1. Catch ‘Em Early
Studies have proven that children are more likely to try new foods between the ages of two and three years. After three years of age, the likelihood that your potato chip lovers will turn into veggie-lovers drops dramatically. The message is clear�feeding your children fruits and vegetables at an earlier age will help guarantee that they keep eating them at a later age.
2. Be Persistent
So you’ve fed junior diced carrots 35 times. And 35 times junior has either fed said diced carrots to the dog (with mixed results), or mashed them into the darkest recesses of his high chair. The dog is sick and the chair is filthy, so why would you even bother to put carrots out for a 36th time? Believe it or not, your child eventually WILL try the carrots-and he may even enjoy them. Getting the dog to enjoy them, however, could be more difficult.
3. A Little Trickery Goes a Long Way
Like most parents, you probably vowed to always be completely honest with your children. However, honesty doesn’t go very far in ensuring that your children eat more fruits and vegetables. No, what you need here is some old-fashioned trickery.
Do your children like meatloaf? Try sneaking in diced tomatoes to your recipe. If diced tomatoes prove too obvious to your little vegetable-hater, go for frozen spinach. Its fine texture makes it almost impossible for even the most discriminating mouths to notice. Placing diced apples or blueberries in pancake batter also offers a unique-but yummy-way for children to eat more fruit. No matter what your children like, fruits and vegetables can be added. The trick is to be creative-and maybe a little tricky.
4. Try Something Different
You can only scrape brussel sprouts off the underside of the table so many times before you attempt to convince yourself (as your children have tried) that french fries really DO count as a vegetable and can be eaten every day. After all, french fries are made of potatoes, are they not? Well, maybe you can’t feed your children french fries every night, but you can use them for inspiration!
Think of it this wayâÂ?¦ If you fed your children boiled potatoes, they would balk in protest. However, if you take that same potato, cut it into strips, and drop it into hot oil-it becomes culinary gold to little children and grown ups alike. What’s the difference between a french fry and a boiled potato? Form.
Do your children hate boiled carrots? Try serving them fresh with dip. Do your children turn green when faced with cooked spinach? Serve it fresh in salad or-better yet-try making creamed spinach. If broccoli never makes it off the plate, then try adding a little cheese sauce. No matter what the fruit or vegetable, simply changing the method of preparation can drastically your child’s willingness to try it-and like it.
5. Have Fun!
Playing with toys has always been more fun than eating vegetables. So why not let children play with their vegetables? Cut up bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, and other vegetables. Allow children to make faces or animals with their vegetable pieces. Or make pizza dough and allow the children to choose from a variety of pre-cut veggies to spread on top. Chances are, allowing your children to “play” with their food will make them more likely to eat it. After all, a cucumber slice has to be tastier than a Lego!
Getting children to eat more fruits and vegetables doesn’t have to be daily chore. With a little patience, some trickery, and good old-fashioned fun, getting your children to eat fruits and vegetables can be a pleasant and creative experience. Scraping brussel sprouts off of dining room chairs, however, only gets harder with time.
