Message in a Backpack鈩� Supporting Healthy Eating Habits: Tips for Families
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鈥淗ow do I get my child to eat听their vegetables?鈥�
As a child nutrition expert with 13 years of experience working with families and early childhood programs, that鈥檚 the question I鈥檓 most often asked. Families know that healthy eating is important for their children鈥檚 developing bodies and minds, but how can they introduce new foods so that children will accept them?
How you feed children matters as much as what you feed them. Serving a variety of healthy foods in a positive mealtime environment can make the experience enjoyable for everyone. Try these tips to help children develop healthy听eating habits.
- Remove the pressure.听Making your child try something they don鈥檛 want to eat can backfire, setting up a contest of wills or teaching them that they don鈥檛 have control over their eating. They should decide what and how much to eat from the foods you put on the table. To limit food waste, start by offering听smaller portions.
- Serve veggies early and often.听The younger children are when they are exposed to vegetables, the sooner they will grow to like them. Once your child is ready to start solids, expose them to a variety of plain vegetables without any fruit or sweeteners mixed in. Once they have transitioned to table food, offer vegetables two or three times听a day.
- Keep trying.听Children may need to see a food many times before trying it, so continue offering previously refused foods. Include them with a favorite meal (green salad next to a favorite听pasta dish).
- Mix it up.听Do you always serve steamed vegetables? Try roasting them with different seasonings, or offer veggies raw or with dip. Many preschoolers like the crunch of raw vegetables (cucumbers, bell peppers,听carrot sticks).
- Encourage your child to help.听Young children love to be helpers. Your preschooler can help wash vegetables, tear lettuce and greens, or arrange sliced veggies on top of听a pizza.
- Show it or grow it.听Show what a vegetable looks like before you prepare it. Consider planting and growing seeds in a pot, planter, or garden with听your child.
- Be a role model.听Your child notices what you eat, and they may try something they see you enjoy. It鈥檚 okay to follow your own preferences, but avoid making negative statements about the foods听being served.
Children get nutrition over days and weeks, not individual meals, and it鈥檚 normal for your child to eat all their veggies at one meal and none at another. Following these tips will help children grow into healthy eaters. If you have concerns, reach out to your child鈥檚 doctor or a registered dietitian听for support.
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