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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – I’ve heard this again and again. It is true that kids may not always prefer vegetables, but HATE is a rather strong word. I’ve met 2-year olds who love broccoli and snack on tomato slices. How can this be you ask? It happens by exposure, guidance and parental support. It doesn’t happen overnight and no kid embraces vegetables at every meal, everyday.
Our kids’ palates are being dumbed down by salty, sugary and fatty foods. Once they get used to these strong, pronounced tastes, fresh fruits aren’t sweet enough and vegetables taste too bitter. Ideally, you need to start very young. As babies are transitioning from an all milk diet to solid foods, introduce a wide variety of colors and flavors. Older infants and young toddlers, who are just beginning to self-feed, can have fun with soft-cooked broccoli flowers and peas that roll. The experiments will be messy at first and there will be more food smashed than chewed, but it is worth the effort. These early experiences are introducing the true flavor of foods, not salted, buttered or fried.
Parents often introduce juice too early in amounts that far exceed what is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. In truth, kids don’t need any juice. Water is a perfect beverage for hydration and using fruits instead of juice teaches children about the subtle sweetness of fresh fruits. Fruits also take longer to eat, offer more satisfaction from chewing, and provide fiber and needed nutrients not found in juice. Cut up grapes, watermelon cubes, blueberries, strawberries, apple slices, orange wedges, banana spears and raisins are all great choices for young kids. Fruit leathers, yogurt covered fruit bits, and chocolate covered raisins are neither necessary nor as healthy as the real fruit. That is not to say that these can’t be eaten on occasion. Any food is okay once in a blue moon but on a daily basis stick with the real thing.
Vegetables are tough because young children have a more pronounced sense of bitter than adults. And, some children fall into the group of supertasters, where the bitter is unpleasantly pronounced. Let’s start with what not to do. Never force a kid to eat vegetables. If they refuse vegetables at dinner offer an alternative that is simple and requires no preparation – a banana, some strawberries, a handful of raisins, or applesauce. Fruits offer many of the same nutrients found in vegetables and can be an acceptable substitution.
Children need repeated exposure to food to accept it. Some experts believe that a child needs to see and touch a food as many as 8 to 10 times before they will taste it. Put a piece of broccoli on their plate. If they don’t eat it, fine. But, don’t take it away. Over time this repeated exposure may result in eating. Don’t expect your child to eat broccoli, however, if you or your husband have none on your plates. In all cultures kids eat what their parents eat and it is rare to find a kid who is a better eater than their parents. What you do counts!
Many children will eat raw vegetables rather than cooked. Fresh carrots, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, celery sticks, and pepper slices are all raw options that are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Vegetables are also nutrient dense – you get a nutrition powerhouse for a minimal calorie intake. This is a lifelong key to weight management.
Another way to entice vegetable eating is to offer a dip. A small puddle of low fat or no fat dressing is fun and blunts the bitter taste of some vegetables. In a study with preschoolers, when offered vegetables with dip, the kids ate 80% more veggies than the group who were given no dip. Nonfat yogurt mixed with Italian dressing or a touch of honey is another option that often results in more veggies eaten.
To engage adventurous eaters, make your children part of the entire shopping and cooking process. Even toddlers can help you select bananas and tomatoes at the store. Teach them that the yellow bananas are sweeter than green ones and firm tomatoes taste yummy. Get your child a stool and an apron so they can be your cooking assistant. Even 2 to 3 year olds can peel bananas, stir batters, place cut up vegetables in a pot, grease pans with cooking spray, open packages, and tear apart lettuce. Your child is more likely to eat something he has helped to buy and cook.
Ellyn Satter, a registered dietitian, clinical social worker, and expert on feeding children has devised a division of responsibility in feeding that all parents should embrace. Parents choose what, when and where to eat. Children choose how much and whether to eat. Refusing to eat a meal or a certain food is not a sin. Everyone’s appetite and tastes vary. Respect your child and they will do their job and eat.
Never forget that you are the parent. It is not your job to buy the foods your child wants but to teach your child to like what you buy.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.
Look for:
The Complete Food Counter, 4th ed., 2012
The Diabetes Counter, 4th Ed., 2011
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Calorie Counter, 5th Ed., 2010
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008
Your Complete Food Counter App: YourCompleteFoodCpunterApp
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: TheNutritionExperts
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