Get Your Child to Eat Those Greens

Trying to get your children to eat their vegetables can be an exercise in futility. Does every meal feel like a power struggle as you work desperately to get your kids to polish off a simple serving of greens? Relax, you're not alone. Plenty of parents are in the same boat. It's how you handle the situation that will determine whether you fail or succeed.{relatedarticles}One of the key factors in getting your kids to eat their vegetables is to lead by example. Don't let it be a case of "do as I say, not as I do." Be a role model by loading your own plate up with heaping helpings of vegetables. Of course, vegetables can seem daunting to children. That's why you should prepare them in ways that appeal to their tastebuds. Serve those veggies in mouth-watering cheese sauces or cream sauces. Even if you have to serve beans, broccoli or other veggies up in a bit of butter with some salt and pepper, just do it.


You want to make vegetables look as edible as possible so that your children don't turn up their noses at the mere sight of greens. If you the eye-pleasing presentation doesn't work, you'll need to pull off a more stealth operation. Sneak extra veggies into soups, casseroles, dips or even muffins.{relatedarticles} The possibilities are endless, and when vegetables are mixed in with some of your kids' favorite foods, they'll be less likely to notice their eating what's good for them. Even if you can't get your child to eat a vegetable the first, second or even third time, give it a chance. Research indicates that children usually need to be exposed to a food up to 15 times for he or she actually eats it. Whatever you do, don't overreact. Eventually it will happen. Just keep servings those greens every night.