How to Get Your Kids to Eat Vegetables
by on 25/08/2014 2479
Also available in : Bahasa Malaysia 中文版
Getting kids excited about eating vegetables isn’t always that easy, but still there are ways worth trying. Here are a few simple and tried techniques which can help to get your kids to eat the green thing.
Let kids help you in the kitchen
Children get very excited about the meal if they are involved in its preparation process. One of the best ways is to make them get involved from the beginning, by taking them to the supermarket or grocery store and allowing them to pick up the required items.
Little things like washing vegetables, measuring the ingredients, arranging of salads, mixing ingredients, serving food and etc. can really make a lot of difference. It does not only make them anticipating for the meal time but also help them to be more creative. So why not encourage your kids to help you in kitchen?
Set example
In general, children always try to follow the behavior of their parents; therefore it is very important for parents to set an example by eating variety of fruits and vegetables, or at least try not to be picky about food. If you have erratic eating habits and always avoid eating healthy food especially vegetables, how can you expect your children to imbibe healthy eating habit? Always remember that parents are children’s first teachers and role models, so walk your talk.
The One-Bite rule
Even though it may sound surprising to many of you but according to a recent research “it takes 10 to 15 tries before a kid will actually eat and like a new food”. I personally apply this ‘one-bite rule’ to guide my daughter. Even if she does not like specific vegetable for the first time, I keep offering it by cooking it in different ways. I made it mandatory for my daughter to try at least one solid mouthful of the rejected food whenever it is served on her plate.
I do understand that implementing such rules is really not that easy but as parents we have to be patient. After enough exposure to that specific food, your kids will gradually take it more positively.
Variety of food and colours on their plate
Most children get attracted to colourful food items. So one of the best tricks is to make their food items more colouful and attractive by adding variety of fruits, vegetables and cutting them in different kind of fun shapes. You can also try making vegetables fun for children by arranging them in different patterns.
Appreciate and reward your children for trying new vegetables
Sometimes it seems to us that our children will never try a new vegetable. But according to a research, rewarding a child for trying one bite of a rejected food with things like stickers makes it easier for them to try the food.
By appreciating and rewarding your children for their good behavior, you will definitely encourage your children to try more new vegetables in future.
Avoid stocking junk food at home
In a study involving more than 6,000 kids and teens, about one third of vegetable consumption was fried potatoes (potato chips, french fries, etc.), and a little more than a third of the fruit consumption was juice. Hence, it is very important for parents to avoid stocking junk food at home.
Instead of stocking junk food like chips, candies etc., you can try to cut different varieties of vegetables and fruits in fancy shape and keep them in fridge at a reachable distance for your kids. By doing this, your kids will surely start trying out healthy vegetables and fruits whenever they are hungry instead looking for junk food.
Conclusion
As the saying goes, “health is wealth”, it is very essential for the parents to make sure that their children are given proper nutrition and balanced diet. Even though eating vegetables alone is not the end of healthy eating but it indeed plays a very crucial role in promoting healthy lifestyle at early stage of life.
