How to Feed Vegetables to a Child

Feeding vegetables to a child may turn out to be quite difficult. As many toddlers and young children are picky eaters, making sure they eat enough vegetables can be an exercise in frustration. There are, however, many tricks to help parents make sure their children eat varied, balanced diets that are full of veggies.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Make eating vegetables fun. Dress up vegetables with peanut butter or cheese spreads to create faces or hide the green and orange colors that children often associate with vegetables. Play games and sing songs related to food and eating, many of which you can download from the internet for free.

2. Hide vegetables in foods your children eat regularly. This may be the easiest way to feed vegetables to a fussy child. Add tomato sauce to foods rather than using ketchup, and chop broccoli, zucchini and carrots to add to soups and sauces. You can also add sliced vegetables to sandwiches and wraps.

3. Use cookie cutters to cut vegetables into interesting shapes. It may be easier to feed vegetables to a child if you make the experience fun and interesting. If you also cut bread in the same shapes, you can add peanut butter and create healthy sandwiches.

4. Offer interesting dips and cheese sauces along with cut vegetables for snacks. Serve them with cubes of cheese and encourage kids to have fun combining and creating new foods.

5. Grow a garden or at least get your kids involved in preparing meals and snacks. Children are more likely to eat vegetables if they take active parts in growing and preparing them.

6. Lead by example. Make sure your child sees you eat vegetables on a daily basis. If possible, try to eat the same vegetables you are offering to him, or introduce new vegetables by adding them to the dinner table and eating them yourself rather than forcing your child to eat them right away.

Tips & Warnings

• The earlier you introduce vegetables, the easier it will be to feed them to your child. Babies can eat mashed vegetables beginning at 6 months of age.
• Crunchy vegetables are more likely to make kids turn up their noses. Make cooked and mashed vegetables, as they may be easier to tolerate and digest.
• Never force your child to eat his vegetables. This may encourage the child to associate eating vegetables with punishment, making it harder to feed him a healthy diet later.

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