“Dad, can I
have more broccoli please?”
Wouldn’t
it be nice to hear those words during mealtime? As parents, many of use are confronted with “battles” over getting their children
to eat more vegetables. While it’s
smart to avoid conflicts over the dinner table, giving up and letting children
eat whatever they want is not an option.
Tips to getting
your child to “Veg” out!
- Rule of Taste: Always encourage your child to at least try their vegetables, and don’t worry if they don’t finish or even spit it out, at least they tried it.
- Hide Them: Check out The Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Delicious cookbooks for ideas. Even though you can sneak it in, make sure to still include a side of vegetables at mealtime.
- Have your child help choose and prepare meals.
- Be Consistent and Patient: Don’t give up after a day, a week, a month or even a year (it took 18 months to get my daughter to regularly accept fruits and vegetables after her toddler hiatus). Keep serving a variety of fruits and vegetables with most meals and snacks and eventually your child will eat them. Most children need to be introduced to a new food 10-20 times before they can acquire a taste for it.
