Among the biggest problems that mothers face and share is how to get their children to eat healthy food, such as vegetables. What makes it even harder is the abundance of junk food or greasy fast food. For some reason, children seem to have a natural dislike for anything green and leafy or stringy, and the high-fat, high-cholesterol items are much more delicious. It is no wonder why many meal times become a stressful battleground, with parents withholding privileges or doting out punishments in response to a child’s refusal to finish his vegetables.
But there must be an easier way to get kids to eat healthy food minus the nightly World War that happens around the dining table. Some simple positive-reinforcement tips that do not prohibit anything but offer an alternative may help you make sure your child gets the nutrients he needs:
1. Set a good example. Nobody can underestimate the power of imitation. A child, no matter what age, instinctively wants to imitate adults, even if he shows every sign of wanting to be independent. Usually, a child who sees his parents enjoying vegetables will want to eat them more than a kid whose mom always forces him to eat without actually eating much of them herself. Instead, when he sees his parents savoring the healthy types of food, he will wind up curious enough to try it himself. If he spits it out, do not despair. There are still other ways to get him to eat healthy options.
2. Find delicious ways to cook vegetables, such as cream soups or disguised in sandwiches. Many mothers vow by this strategy, of cooking vegetables such as broccoli or squash in a yummy cream soup. Some moms even add coloring to remove the greenish hue that children normally steer away from. Other moms recommend mixing up sandwich fillings, such as using green apple for an added tart to a peanut butter sandwich instead of using sugar-rich jellies.
3. Pay attention to the kind of vegetables or vegetable-rich food that he does enjoy. Some kids like carrot sticks dipped in different dips and sauces, while others like onions on pizzas and those in tacos. You can encourage them to eat more variety of food in order to make sure they get enough vegetables. In the same vein, do not be afraid to experiment. Some families that enjoy Chinese or other Asian cuisine might find their children enjoying spring rolls. These crispy fried rolls usually come with vegetables finely chopped inside, and you can easily learn how to cook them from recipes on the Internet, cooking magazines, or cooking channels on TV.
4. Stock up on fruit juice in the home. This will not only give your child enough nutrients from fruit, it will also discourage him from drinking sugar-laden colas and sodas. Also, encourage them from a young age to drink a lot of water. A child who is used to drinking water at every meal will most likely be satisfied with it even in the absence of a sweet drink.
5. Include whole-grain items on your grocery list. This can be in the form of muesli and other whole-wheat cereals, instead of the sugar-coated cereals that kids naturally love. To sweeten the cereal, add bits of sliced fruit to the breakfast bowl, or add wheat germ on top of the cereal for an added dose of fiber. Nuts and seeds can also easily replace chips, since they offer the same chewy enjoyment. If the child is not too keen to make the switch, you can offer a closer alternative in the form of homemade popcorn. Many brands of microwave popcorn are very easy to prepare.
These are just basic things to help you get started in encouraging your child to eat healthy food options. Once you get used to these in your daily routine, you can very easily find more creative ways to get around the problem, and before you know it, you will have a very well-nourished child who voluntarily picks the healthier alternative when given a choice. After all, that is the long-term goal. It is not simply to make sure they eat healthy when your eye is on them, but more importantly, you want to know that even when they eat in school, they will know better than to survive on chips, candy, and soda.
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