Getting Kids to Eat a Wide Variety of Foods
There is much that could be said and has been said about food as it relates to kids. In this lens I plan to share what we've done to get our kids to eat a wide variety of foods. It's been my observation that many children are very picky when it comes to food and I've observed and read enough to realize that a lot of responsibility (I didn't say all) rests with the parents and how they handle food issues when the children are quite small. I hope you'll gain some new ideas for helping your kids to grow up eating a garden sized variety of food!
So What's a Parent to Do?
Perhaps you have a child who just wants to eat
or
all day long.
You're tired of serving
and boring
for dinner every night.
You'd love for them to eat
or maybe some
or at least a nutritious
with a few vegetables on it.
In your dreams you see them experimenting with foods that have new and exotic
or perhaps (gasp!)
or (dare you imagine?) some variety of
What's a parent to do?
Is there
Read on for some helpful ideas on getting your kids to try new foods!
(All photos from www.allposters.com)
My inspiration...
Before our eldest child was born I ate out at a salad bar restaurant with several of my coworkers. One lady brought her son, who was about 7 or 8 at the time. I remember being amazed when I noticed the little boy had a plate with a large salad on it that he was happily eating away at. I knew then that I wanted my children to grow up eating vegetables willingly. 1) Model good food behavior
As parents, we must model good eating habits for our children. Our kids will not grow up eating healthy foods if we eat junk and refuse to eat vegetables. We need to first change our eating habits and our attitudes about food if we want our children to grown into adults with good food habits.
Although written specifically about removing sugar from your diet, Little Sugar Addicts by Kathleen Desmaisons is a wonderful resource for a step-by-step guide to changing your family's eating habits.
Although written specifically about removing sugar from your diet, Little Sugar Addicts by Kathleen Desmaisons is a wonderful resource for a step-by-step guide to changing your family's eating habits.
Little Sugar Addicts: End the Mood Swings, Meltdowns, Tantrums, and Low Self-Esteem in Your Child Today
Amazon Price: $10.08 (as of 12/30/2009)
2) Don't become a short order cook
It's easy to fall into this trap. Joey doesn't like beans, so I'll fix potatoes instead. Sally hates broccoli so I'll stick with corn. Edward refuses to eat rice so I'll fix pasta. Soon all we're doing is servicing our own family cafe with mom running ragged trying to keep all the kids happy. Sorry folks, but this shouldn't be happening. Serve one meal. If your children are hungry, they'll eat and I guarantee you they will not starve by the next meal time if they choose not to eat what's set before them.
3) Eat two bites of beans and then you may have more cheese
Help children learn to eat foods they're not fond of by saying something like "eat two bites of beans and then you may have more cheese." We've used this technique since our kids were quite young. It doesn't work to tell your young child to eat all of one thing before they can have another since they don't have a good concept of how much that is. Instead give them a number of bites they need to eat first before they get something they really want. If you do this consistently and don't give in to begging your children will learn that you mean business and will eventually quit whining about what they have to eat. Recently my eldest son said to my younger one, "You have to eat your cereal first before you can have a plum." He gets it! 4) Don't allow negative comments about food at the dinner table
Don't allow words like "yuck", "gross", and "nasty" to become a part of your language. This goes for adults as well. Remember your kids are watching and listening to how you act and react! If you're serving a new dish and would like feedback on what the family thought of the meal, teach your children to do so in a constructive, positive manner.
More Inspiration for Getting Kids to Eat
Toddler Café: Fast, Healthy, and Fun Ways to Feed Even the Pickiest Eater
Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/30/2009)
The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 12/30/2009)
The Science Chef: 100 Fun Food Experiments and Recipes for Kids
Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 12/30/2009)
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food
Amazon Price: $18.96 (as of 12/30/2009)
Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family (Fork and Spoon Field Guides)
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 12/30/2009)
5) Consistently give small portions of all the foods the family is eating
Even if your kids are not fond of something on the table insist that they take at least a small bite. Over time as we've given our eldest little bits of garden salad he has begun eating more and more. We didn't pressure, we simply placed it on his plate and encouraged him to try it. Now he asks for salad!
6) Develop fun names for food
For instance, we call broccoli, "trees". Lima beans we refer to as "turtles". Fun Food Names
What fun names to you have for foods around your house? Tell us and then don't forget to vote for your favorite!
7) Find different or unique ways of eating something
If your kids aren't fond of peas, try giving them to your kids when they're frozen. They thaw quickly but my children love to munch on "froze" peas. I've also tried this with frozen corn, but it doesn't thaw quite so quickly so it's a bit harder to eat.If your kids are reluctant to eat sweet potatoes try baking or frying up a batch of sweet potato fries. They're sweet and yummy and easy to make.
How do you get your kids to eat foods they might not normally eat?
Add your own ideas and be sure to vote for your favorite!
8) Let your kids be taste testers
A few months ago my 3.5 year old found my drawer of spices. My husband and I love trying new foods and flavors so my spice drawer has a number of different herbs and spices. At first our son just enjoyed playing and stacking up the containers. But one day I decided to let him taste test one of them in hopes he would then be more interested in trying out foods that incorporated that flavor. Now, whenever he's playing in the drawer he'll ask to "taste a spice" and I'll occasionally dab a bit of some kind of herb or spice on his hand for him to test. Loading poll. Please Wait...
What works in your home?
We'd love to hear from you!
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- ChineseKitesforKids ChineseKitesforKids Jun 2, 2009 @ 9:46 pm
- Great useful information on this lens! One of the resources I use to teach my kids in daycare about healthy foods is sign language. I teach sign language in general but it really works great for getting kids to eat veggies! I think that practicing what you preach is also a great suggestion on your part. "Monkey see...monkey do" This is fabulous, an easy 5 stars! Come and check out our lens Daycare School Nutrition.
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- puddlescollection puddlescollection May 19, 2009 @ 5:15 pm
- Great tips! I am very committed to helping my kids become healthy and hopefully not picky eaters.
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- theronald theronald May 19, 2009 @ 2:06 pm
- Great lens so many pictures and lots of great information I will be making sure my children will be following this info and eating the right foods. There is more great food information on What Healthy Foods To Eat
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- Tiddledeewinks Tiddledeewinks Apr 9, 2009 @ 3:44 pm
- Hey! I though I was the only one to teach my kids that broccoli was "trees"!
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- FitSteph FitSteph Apr 2, 2009 @ 3:42 pm
- Wow what a great lens. And if anyone is looking for healthy meal plans This is one of my favorite health & fitness sites. It lets you track food, workouts, and calories!
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Lensmaster CounselMom has been a member since July 3 2008, has rated 64 lenses, favorited 45, and has created 21 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "Ezekiel Bread". See all my lenses
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