We are all familiar with the dinner-time struggle. Sometimes it seems impossible to get your fussy kids to eat their veggies, and you feel fed up with the same old battle.
It’s a very common struggle for parents to get their kids to eat enough fruit and veg. The Health Survey of England and Wales found that only 18% of children aged 5 to 15 ate five standard portions of fruit and vegetables per day in 2018. This proves that it can be difficult to keep up with the five-a-day health standard, or even get your kids to eat veggies at all! So don’t feel guilty, you are not alone!
There is hope still. When it comes to your children’s diets, persistence is key. It may be easier to give in to their sugary cravings and dinner table tantrums, but a balanced diet with enough fruit and veg is paramount for your child’s development.
So How Do We Make Veggies More Appealing to Kids?
1. Challenge Their Perception of Fruit and Veg
There are multiple ways to do this.
Make eating fruit and veg fun! You could play silly games with carrot sticks or make up cute nicknames for veggies. For example, brussels sprouts could be ‘fairy cabbages’, or broccoli could be ‘baby trees’. Be creative!
Never underestimate the power of presentation. If the food looks interesting, colourful and playful it will make it more appealing to your child. You could create a fortress out of carrots, a mash potato castle or arrange the food to make fun shapes. This creativity acts as a distraction from the extra veggies you snuck onto the plate!
2. Inform and Listen
Teach your children all about veggies – where they come from, how they are grown and what they do. This knowledge will allow them to articulate what they do and don’t like better. Understanding the benefits of veggies might encourage them to try new things more often… but remain realistic because sometimes, even as adults, we just don’t like the taste!
So, ask your kids what it is they do and don’t like about particular veggies, and then work around their needs where you can. This will help you to understand their taste palates better. Some fruit and veggies are too earthy, or some flavours are too citrussy for a child’s developing palate. Discover what works best through trial and error!
3. Let Them Have a Say
Allowing your kids to explain what they want to eat will let them feel more in control of their diet, and thus more inclined to eat it all up. This includes choosing which veggies they would like, and ensuring they eat (at least) some of them! And you can always sneak some extra bits in on the sly!
If you want to take this further, then see if they want to help cook with you or watch you cook. This will teach them more about the veggies and food they consume, and hopefully, encourage them to understand and enjoy vegetables more.
4. Use Reward Systems
An effective way to make veggies more appealing is to create a reward system around them. For example, “You can have pudding if you eat all your greens!” or “You can have two books instead of one before bed if you eat those fairy cabbages up!”
Reward systems stretch to simply praising and affirming your children. Notice when they gobble it all down, or even make a good effort with their fruit and veg, and let them know you noticed. This will encourage them to seek the same praise again. This is because the brain’s reward system reinforces behaviours associated with the dopamine receptors that reward systems target. Your child will seek the same reward systems you model, and over time get used to the taste of new veggies!
To Summarise…
There are several ways to make veggies more appealing to your kids, it’s just a matter of trial and error and perseverance. Don’t give up!
If you need some extra help with encouraging your child to eat their greens, contact the team today at Veginom!