Making kids eat fruits and vegetables can be tough. A lot of parents are worried because kids nowadays are just eating cereals and only good tasting food, which are not enough for a balanced diet.
According to RadioMD, statistics from USDA shows that 95 percent of kids and teens between ages four and 18 are not eating the recommended amount of vegetables for their diet everyday. This affects their physical development and can lead to malnutrition.
It is the parent's responsibility to nurture their child to make them healthy. They play a big part in encouraging their child to eat vegetables and fruits. In the modern day, some parents are very busy working and doesn't have enough time to prepare for healthy foods and they just prepare ready to eat foods or fried foods.
There are still ways on how to make your kids eat vegetables and make them like it. Here are some recommended tips that works.
Show to them that you eat vegetables. Be an example.
As posted by Summer Tomato page, the eating behavior of children are coming from their parents. If parents will eat vegetables, their children will likely eat vegetables too.
Mix vegetables in their favorite foods
One example is a pizza with vegetable toppings. Try to have few veggies at first then increase the amount of veggies gradually on the next succeeding meals. They will slowly get used to the vegetable toppings and consider it part of their usual food.
One bite rule
There are successful parents who enforced the "one bite rule" to their children. Kids usually reject vegetables but making them taste by just one bite is effective. Exposure to the taste of vegetable often will get them used to the taste.
Don't force your child to eat veggies
Experts are saying that if you force a child to eat vegetables, the more they avoid it. Not all vegetables are favored by kids. Try another vegetable dish that your child might like. There are a lot of options.
Invite some friends of your kids to eat food with vegies.
Peer pressure can be very useful in encouraging your child. If a child sees their friends eating vegetables it is likely for him to try and follow. Doing this often will make them familiar with the food.
Reward kids with good desserts
If you plan to have a vegetable loaded meal, persuade them to eat to get the mouth water desserts after. "No vegetable means no dessert." This one is an effective way to make them eat vegetables but just do it occasionally to keep your kid's diet with low sugar.
