Every mom knows the struggle of trying to get their kids to eat what you want them to. Whether it’s vegetables, fruits, full meals or just getting them to eat at all, every meal can be a battle. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Now I will say that every child is different and there are moms out that will say their kids will not follow any kind of parenting advice, no matter how good it is. But these methods are proven and will help most moms to get their kids to eat their veggies, or whatever else they want them to eat.
Why Don’t Kids Want to Eat Their Vegetables?
So before we talk about how to get kids to eat their vegetables, let’s talk about why kids don’t want to eat their vegetables in the first place. In other words, how did we get here?
Vegetables Aren’t The Most Exciting Food
If you think about it, when kids are given the choice between vegetables and other foods, there are many other foods that are brighter and sweeter, and processed food companies know that these are things that attract children to foods; that’s why they use them! They come up with gimmicks and ads that attract kids with their favorite toys and cartoons and brainwash them to only want those foods.
At that point, simple or bland vegetables don’t seem as exciting and logically, they would rather have the other foods.
They Watch Your Reaction
If there’s anything parents quickly realize with their kids, it’s that they watch absolutely everything you do…even when you don’t want them to! Realistically, parents aren’t always the best at eating their vegetables or have the best reactions when they do and by that point in their lives, they are pretty set in their ways.
Kids pick up on that. They wonder why they have to eat something you don’t. If you don’t eat it, they won’t see it and it won’t seem as natural of an action as other things they do see you eat.
As silly as it sounds, kids also watch your reaction as they eat vegetables to help them determine whether they are going to like what they are eating. In other words, think about when you eat ice cream or chocolate. Many of us instinctively get excited and you have a different reaction and facial expression as to when you’re eating broccoli.
Whether or not you’re aware of it, many times you will have this same reaction when you are feeding your kids. You are expecting them to like what you like and expecting them to dislike what you dislike and your facial reactions will correspond.
They Haven’t Had Exposure
In some cases, children don’t want to eat vegetables because they haven’t been exposed to them. This is important to establish when they are young and just trying all kinds of new foods. If you only ever give you children one kind of food, like noodles, they are only ever going to want that kind of food.
And this problem doesn’t just come from parents that neglect to give their children vegetables. This can happen with parents try everything they can to get their kids to eat different foods and try new things and they just have a picky eater.
So What Can You Do?
Start When They’re Young
It’s important to start introducing a variety of foods to children when they’re first learning to eat table food. When you’re introducing new foods, most pediatricians will suggest alternating between fruits and vegetables to prevent your child from having a sweet tooth.
And in my experience, their advice works pretty well. After transitioning my first son to table food, he does have a preference for fruit, but he will still eat just about any vegetable you give him.
Have them try new foods until they have a broad selection of foods to eat. Trust me, the more effort you put forth in the beginning will make your life easier when you’re preparing foods and dinners in the future.
Get Excited About Vegetables
When you give your kids new vegetables to try, get excited about it. Make a big deal out of the fact that they get to eat green beans or carrots and they will instantly want to eat them more.
If you think about it, has anyone ever told you that something smelled funny and then asked you to try it or made a face while you ate something? You instantly don’t want to eat it and think it’s going to taste bad just based on their reaction. On the other hand, if someone tells you that a food is the best thing they’ve ever eaten and they want you to try it, you get excited about how good it will be. The same concept applies.
Get Your Kids Involved
This goes along with getting excited about foods. Get your kids involved in the prep work, have them help you make dinner, or even let them help you in the garden. If kids have a hand at growing, picking, and preparing vegetables, they will be much more interested in wanting to try the end result. It can be a very easy way to not only get your kids to eat what you want them to, but also establish healthy habits early on.
Regularly Expose Kids to New Foods and Foods They Don’t Like
When you include things like vegetables in their lunch and dinner every night, they come to expect it and it becomes less of a battle trying to get them to eat it. It also sets an expectation that they will be eating vegetables and it doesn’t seem like something out of the ordinary or something they have an option to go without.
And remember, tastes change all the time. I’m sure there are things you liked when you were younger that you don’t like anymore and vice versa. It never hurts to expose kids to different foods multiple times. In other words, don’t just write off a food and assume they will hate it forever.
When All Else Fails, Hide Them
Now I know there are some moms out there reading this and saying, “Oh please, I’ve tried every trick in the book and nothing will work.” And in which case, all I can say is hide them in whatever form you can and try again another day.
Blend them with fruits in smoothies or blend them up and pour them into popsicle molds and freeze them. Anything you can do to make them more exciting or make them unaware they’re eating them is key. Mix them into mac and cheese, or into soups and chilis they won’t be able to see.
I also really love these adorable snacks for kids. They’ll have your kids asking for more in no time!
If you have any tricks up your sleeve of how to get kids to eat their vegetables, let me know. Us moms have to stick together!