Try out transparency and honesty with your child, who might I remind you is a human being just like you and I, and should not strictly be classified as a child void of taste buds.
Here is something to think about? If you didn’t know much about something and someone was forcing it on you…would you like that? No, no you probably would not. The same goes for children. Food should be made fun to get kids excited to eat and try it. By forcing something foreign on them, they turn their nose up as would I. Most child have only seen or been offered kid friendly food, such as; chicken fingers, fries, grilled cheese, peanut butter/jelly, etc. So when you offer a green bean or a carrot they aren’t used to seeing those colors, their mouths aren’t used to those textures, it is a strange food and since it is strange then that must mean that they don’t like it. Giving into that and treating your child like a child and assuming they won’t like something although they have never tried it or possibly didn’t like it in a different form once before. Instead give them the opportunity to try again and again while never shutting the door on a food because they don’t like it. Colors, flavors, textures – make food fun!
Kid friendly food is relatively new. Children in the 1920’s were not having frozen pizzas and fries for lunch but instead they ate REAL food. A child although little, they, out of anyone, deserve the very best food to help them grow into healthy adults. Their little brains crave food straight from the ground. Take a step back from the center aisles at the grocery and get lost in the produce department! Learn about fruits and vegetables with your child. The more they learn, see and feel, the more they will be willing to put it in their mouth and you won’t have to “force” them anymore.
Do you remember going back to class from lunch as a child exhausted, not being able to focus? I most certainly do. The cause…the glutenous, sugary, void of all nutrition lunch that the majority of children eat. It is the norm so don’t beat yourself up about it and good on you for reading this. You can change it all right now! Stand up and say I will feed my children things that I would eat because they deserve the best of the best! I understand that making your child a lunch for school everyday is maybe not possible for all but you can educate your child on how to make better decisions at school. Also, you can boycott the school lunch or a little less drastic encourage them to work on a garden to cafeteria program. Did you know that most schools only have heating kitchens because all they need to do is heat frozen foods for lunch? Push your child’s school to move towards having a functioning kitchen and a staff that actually cooks. Parents have to stand up if they want schools to change!
Hands on experience is a sure way to start a fire in their little hearts towards fruits/vegetables. An easy way to get a child hands on experience is to take a trip to a local indoor garden, farmers market or why not load up for a family trip to a farm? By showing children that food comes from the ground and not boxes, it opens their eyes and makes produce more approachable. If you are ready to dive in, grow your own garden in the backyard…it’s a lot easier than you think! By having the children plant, water, watch and harvest their own veggies they are more keen to eat them and be excited about it.
It is not easy to change the diet of your family especially if your kids are older and more used to certain foods but it is possible! I will say it again. It is possible. I promise you! I am proud of you for taking charge of the food your family eats and really investing in learning together about all the different delicious foods grown around the world.
YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR! – ML