5 Creative Ways To Get Your Kids to Eat Veggies
We all remember our parents telling us to “finish our veggies before dessert”, unless you’re the odd ball who loved them. Regardless, it’s likely you are having the same issue with your children. For some reason we naturally steer clear of veggies.
With an abundance of snack foods that temporarily satisfy hunger, it’s not surprising our kids (and many of us adults) prefer the ‘tasty kid food’ over the good stuff that provides real nutrition. It’s unfortunate that chemical filled foods are so prominently marketed towards children. These foods are no good because they infiltrate your child’s digestive system, often times causing them to be lethargic, have lower cerebral levels and can eventually develop into early childhood obesity.
What our little tykes need is their daily dose of fruits and vegetables. However, trying to convince them to eat vegetables can be a real formidable task. Usually most parents resort to the tactic of using the ultimatum, “you’re not getting up from this table until you finish your…broccoli….carrots, etc.”…..you know the drill. The end result leads to a crabby, hungry and non compliant child going to bed early on an empty stomach because they refuse to finish their vegetables.
All that said, there is hope! You can get your child excited to eat their veggies. They key is to use your imagination and basic psychology. Here are a few creative ways to get your kids to eat their superfoods:
Lead By Example
This is the less creative way, but it works. At a certain age, your kids want to be just like you. The key is to mold them while they’re at this age! They do everything you do from acting like they’re cutting the grass with their toy mower to cooking in their play kitchen. If you, as the parent make vegetables part of your daily staple, kids will eventually emulate this too (it’s true that children pick up more from observation than from always being told what to do).
Make it A Game
Tell your kids the benefit of eating their veggies and be creative about it. Kids love turning anything ordinary into a game. This can be as simple as challenging your little one to eat their veggies before you. If they have a sibling, inspire some light hearted fun between the two by seeing who can think of the most delicious way to enjoy their veggies. Give them options and teach them that they don’t always have to be eaten raw! Experiment with different ways to cook them and get your kids involved with the process, from picking the recipe to helping you cook it.
Positive Affirmation
We learn more from rewards than we do from commands. If we challenge children by using positive affirmation, they will typically respond well. Speak positive words to them when they eat their veggies, let them know they did a great thing. Use creative comparisons like, “If you eat your kale/spinach, you will develop really big muscles and beat Daddy in wrestling.” Naturally a child will want to rise to the occasion and show his parents how strong he/she is.
Make it Look Tasty!
There are countless ways to make veggies look more tasty than they are. We have to compete with the ‘good looking’ bad food huge companies are marketing towards our kids, so make the food look GOOD! For example, you can make the classic ants on a log or get more involved and whip up a fruit & veggie smoothie! Creating these combinations of veggies with toppings or in blended form, can often masquerade the bitter taste and give your kids something to look forward to. They start to see that healthy food can be just as delicious as the bad stuff.
When it gets down to it, the key is to start them young. Our children acquire tastes for foods in their early years. Get them to consistently eat their vegetables from a very young age, and the sight of vegetables will be a much more pleasant experience for everyone involved.
There are hundreds of other tips out there to get past the culinary hurdle of the vegetable. Do you have any? If so, share them in the comments below!
If you nurture children on the importance of having healthy food habits, they will carry this with them for the rest of their lives.
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