How to Get Children to Eat Salads

All parents want their children to eat more vegetables. Salads can be a great way to get children to do just that. While children may initially turn their nose up at a salad, they eventually come around. Follow these steps to help you get your children to eat and enjoy salads.

Instructions

1. Allow your child to help you make the salad or pick out some of the salad ingredients. Doing so will help you make sure that the salad contains some vegetables that your children like to eat. Also, if your children help make the salad, they will be more likely to actually eat it.

2. Cut salad vegetables into large chunks. This makes it possible for your children to eat the salad with their hands. Children will eat almost anything that they can pick up and eat with their hands.

3. Use salad dressing. Let your child pick her favorite salad dressing to use. Then you can either pour some salad dressing over the vegetables, or put some salad dressing in a cup for the child to use as a dipping sauce. Most kids like to dip vegetables, such as carrot sticks or celery sticks, into the salad dressing.

4. Serve the salad as the first part of the meal. If you serve the salad without any other food choices, your children will be more likely to eat the salad if they are actually hungry.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't force eating salads on your children. They likely will come around to it eventually.

• Avoid putting very strong or bold vegetables, such as onions, in salads for children. The strong flavor might turn the children off.