Children tend to be the pickiest eaters and often, whether you are a parent or a child care provider, finding ways to get children to eat healthier can be a struggle. Here are some ways you can promote eating veggies with children.
Work Vegetables into Favorite Foods
When my son was little, he was by far one of the pickiest eaters. One of the ways that I got him to eat his vegetables was by working pureed veggies into his favorite food, pancakes. When he was little, he didn’t even notice and the green ones didn’t even bother him. You can even turn it into an educational activity by teaching kids their colors through the different colored pancakes. This is just one way to add vegetables into something children eat, and there are so many other ideas like smoothies, dips, snacks, and other baked goods that can have some secret veggie power.
Get the Kids Involved
When children get older, have them help to shop for groceries, plan out meals, or cook the food. If they are invested into what they make, they will be more likely to try the food. Teach them how to find fresh produce and how to prepare it. For an extra picky eater, have them pick out a vegetable for you to try and then have them help you to make it. It also can become a great educational activity to learn how to cook along with learning more about plants.
Teach Children about Plants
Having children explore activities such as gardening or learning about plants can help peak their interest in vegetables. Not only will they learn how to care and grow their favorite vegetables, but they also will gain knowledge that will stay with them throughout life. Even reading books, picking produce off the farm, or planning activities that are focused on plants can help promote eating their vegetables.
Role Model for Them
At the end of the day, our children model themselves after the adults they are around. Teach children how to eat healthy vegetables by eating yours. And I don’t just mean with a giant dipping bowl of ranch. Model the ways that vegetables can be fun by finding new ways to enjoy them yourself. Don’t forget that the practices that you teach them will be passed down to their children, so help better generations of children one child at a time.
This can be great advice, but it’s easier said than done. It’s so easy for kids to find bad examples of how to eat with all of the advertising out there. We have to work just as hard to advertise to the children we’re responsible for how to eat a balanced diet.