How to Get Your Child to Eat Vegetables
August 3rd, 2010
Everyone knows that vegetables are good for you and many parents earnestly strive to ensure that their children eat them everyday–sometimes with little success. In light of this all-too-common challenge, parents often ask for tips to get their children to eat more vegetables.
A good attitude and a little creativity are key
Perhaps the most important factor to consider is your own attitude and approach towards eating in general. Avoid forcing your child to eat vegetables–or any other food for that matter. Encourage your child to try a spoonful, but don’t get upset if she refuses it. Eventually, she will try it, so keep reintroducing various foods from time to time. And remember that even young children can learn why nutrition is important; you can simply say: “They taste good and make you healthy, big, and strong.”
Some other tricks of the trade:
- Add vegetables to store-bought foods or to those you already prepare (some suggestions are listed in the next section).
- Set out a plate of raw vegetables or a salad of cold, cooked vegetables before the meal–the time when your child is hungriest.
- Keep a bowl of cherry tomatoes or baby carrots in the refrigerator for a quick and handy snack. (Of course, you’ll want to take into account the fact that these foods can be potential choking hazards for toddlers and preschoolers.)
- Serve raw or lightly steamed vegetables with salad dressing or cheese sauce dipping.
- Make mashed sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, since sweet potatoes contain lots of vitamin A.
- Let your child make her own taco with shredded lettuce, tomato, ground turkey and a little cheese.
- Serve foods with tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes often.
- Try not to overcook vegetables to preserve their taste, bright appearance, and valuable vitamins.
- Help make your child familiar with vegetables; serve them everyday.
- Prepare meals together (e.g., younger children can wash and older ones can chop vegetables for stir-fry dishes and salads).
- Let your child help choose fresh vegetables when you’re shopping.
- Plant a vegetable garden with your child or even just put a small cherry tomato plant in a pot in a sunny spot in the yard.
- Most important, set a good example. Remember that your actions will speak louder than words. Besides, parents need their veggies, too!
Helpful additions
If your child turns up his nose at a lot of vegetables, try slipping them into her food by:
- Making muffins with your child and adding pumpkin, zucchini, or shredded carrots to the muffin mix.
- Tucking in a lettuce leaf, a tomato slice, or carrot curls into sandwiches.
- Adding chopped spinach or a handful of frozen vegetables to soups, ramen noodles, spaghetti sauce, or lasagna.
- Adding chopped tomato or grated carrots to tuna, chicken, or pasta salads.
- Cooking frozen mixed vegetables according to the directions and then adding them to store-bought potato salad.
- Making pizza with your child and adding chopped broccoli or spinach to frozen pizza or frozen bread dough topped with tomato sauce.
- Adding chopped broccoli or extra carrots to canned or dried chicken soup.
All information provided by Dr. Spock at http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,6131,00.html
