As a parent, trying to get your kids to enjoy vegetables can feel like a losing battle. But there are things you can do to cultivate an appreciation — or at least a grudging respect — for healthy foods from a young age. Here are five ways to help your kids appreciate and choose healthy foods now and as they grow older. Learn about dream symbols and how to interpret them with dreamsymbolsdictionary.com!
1. Make Fruits and Veggies a Silent Partner
For many kids, texture and smell are just as influential as flavor when determining whether they love or hate certain foods. Unfortunately, vegetables can look and smell very unappetizing when they’re cooked. Your child may take one whiff of limp broccoli and decide they hate it before they even put the fork to their mouth. Once that happens, good luck ever getting them to change their minds about broccoli!
Fortunately, there are ways to make vegetables and fruits more appealing for children. You can try “hiding” nutritious foods inside meals so they aren’t easily detectable. You might chop up carrots in tiny pieces or shred some zucchini and add them to main or side dishes. You might also consider blending them up in a refreshing drink. A quality super greens powder makes it easy to quickly create a tasty, healthy beverage that’s full of nutrients every growing child needs.
2. Let Your Kids Help You Cook
Children of practically all ages can assist in the preparation of basic meals and healthy snacks. Your kindergartner can wash produce or tear up lettuce for a salad. Older children can measure ingredients and add them to a pot or bowl. Getting your kids involved in preparing and cooking food can encourage them to feel ownership in their own nourishment.
Kids often take pride in the creation process and are more likely to enjoy eating something they made themselves. Plus, children who learn how to cook healthy meals at a young age are more likely to continue doing so as they grow older. One day, your kids will grow up and move out of the house. When they do, they’ll be grateful you gave them a good foundation of healthy cooking skills to rely on.
3. Encourage a Positive Attitude Around Food
Many parents unwittingly make their children see food in a negative light. They do this by constantly telling their kids to stay away from certain foods. True, it’s important to limit children’s consumption of sugary sweets and salty snacks. However, constantly stressing their dangers can paint good nutrition in broad strokes of negativity and restriction.
Whenever possible, help your kids develop a positive attitude toward food by emphasizing how incredible healthy foods are. Use the old Popeye tactic to explain how spinach and other greens can provide energy to run and play. Talk about how healthy proteins build strong muscles and bones. When you encourage a positive outlook on healthy foods, your kids are more likely to choose them as they grow older.
4. Don’t Force Your Kids to Eat Everything on Their Plates
Many parents have a rule that no one can leave the dinner table until they eat everything on their plate. This rule is usually handed down through generations and may stem from food scarcity in generations past. While it’s good to teach your children to avoid waste, forcing them to clean their plates isn’t ideal.
If you make your children eat everything on their plates, they won’t learn how to listen to their body’s own fullness cues. This could lead them to overeat and struggle to manage their weight as adults. Plus, forcing children to eat everything on their plates can teach them that eating nutritious food is a punishment. Instead, encourage your children to eat until they feel satisfied.
5. Avoid Using Food as a Bribe to Control Behavior
When someone tells you that you can’t have something, it usually makes you want the forbidden thing even more. The same is true for children who are told they can’t have dessert unless they behave a certain way or finish a desired task. Sure, you’ll probably get your children to do what you want by offering a bowl of ice cream as a prize. But at what cost?
Using sugary foods to bribe your kids can cause them to see unhealthy treats as something they earn the right to eat. This attitude puts sugary foods on a pedestal instead of presenting them as occasional indulgences to be enjoyed in moderation.
Whenever possible, avoid using food as a bribe — especially unhealthy food. Bribing with treats can create an unhealthy relationship with food that can last into adulthood. Children who grew up seeing unhealthy foods as rewards may be more likely to struggle with weight and overall health. If your child needs extra motivation to do their chores, consider offering playtime at the park or a walk with the dog as incentives.
It can be tricky to help children learn how to appreciate the many benefits healthy food can offer them. Use the tips above to frame nutritious food selections in a flattering light. When children develop a positive perception of healthy food at a young age, they’ll likely carry that same attitude with them into adulthood.