How To Get Children to Eat Fruits & Vegetables?

Answer 1

Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of a healthy, nutritious diet, but it’s common knowledge that children tend to be picky eaters. This can lead to inadequate nutrition and bad dietary habits that follow children for the rest of their lives. As a parent, finding creative ways to coax children into eating fruits and vegetables not only benefits them now, but sets them up for healthier lives in the years ahead.

Many children don’t eat their fruits and vegetables because they are presented in unappealing ways in children’s eyes. While every child is an exception, it sometimes takes a little creative cooking to tailor dishes palatable to children. For example, a child might not want to eat a fruit fresh and plain, but chopping up that fresh fruit and adding it to pancake batter might be the best method for introducing the child to the taste of the fruit. Likewise, mixing in new vegetables with well loved vegetables, such as peas with corn, might be the tipping point fr a child’s taste buds.

A simple method of getting children to eat fruits and vegetables is to give them choices of what they want to try each day. Presenting two or three healthy options and allowing the child to choose will give them a sense of freedom while still making sure that the child is eating food that will offer them proper nutrition and help them grow.

Finally, many children simply need time to make the choice to eat new fruits and vegetables. While some parents believe in making the child try the new food every day, as long as other healthy options are available, rotating in a new fruit or vegetable once every week or two weeks is the most effective method. Younger children may not even remember the food from before and might take to a new presentation right away. Older children will catch on quickly and may prove to be stubborn, in which case it should be stressed that trying the fruit or vegetable itself is an accomplishment and continuing to eat them is something that will constantly garner praise.