Getting the kids on board

One thing that is a challenge for a lot of parents is getting their children to eat vegetables and try new foods and generally eat healthier. It’s the rare child that does not prefer Oreos over blueberries, so getting kids to make good choices can be a challenge.

Here in my house, the resident children are 9 and 11. One of the girls is a very picky eater and also has some food allergies. The other girl is less picky, but just enough so to make me sigh in frustration. All that said, the girls do try new foods regularly and are enthusiastic shoppers at the farmers’ market and cooks in our kitchen.

If you are looking for ways to get your children on board with eating healthier foods and cutting back on McCrap, as well as trying new things, here’s how we do it in our house.

• First of all, we talk to our children about food. We’ve explained that McCrap is loaded with chemicals and other surprise ingredients that they don’t want to eat. That doesn’t mean that my girls don’t still want fast food, but they understand that it’s a rare occurrence and not a regular thing.  And now that they know what’s in those edible food-like products, they don’t really want them.
• We talk about what’s in processed foods in general and that we don’t want to eat, for example, food with high fructose corn syrup.  Again, the girls aren’t deprived, but there’s not a lot out there that they really want.  Twinkies are one example, so they get one a couple times a year.
• We mostly cook from scratch and that includes things like ice cream, cookies, and most other desserts. When I do buy prepackaged foods, it’s either because it’s something that I’m not inclined to make myself (e.g. crackers) or a special treat (Newman-O’s).
• We have a large garden and my children are part of my gardening team. Yes, I do most of the work out there, but I have the girls assist on occasion. Both of my girls help me plant and, later on in the season, they help with picking — whether it’s a bowl of English peas to go with dinner or larger-scale harvesting, such as the vast amounts of edamame we plant every year. (We love the stuff and eat it with dinner once or twice a week, as well as for snacks.)
• My girls often cook with me. This includes not only fixing meals, but also baking with their friends when they come over. Several weeks ago, both girls had a friend over for a sleepover — the 5th graders made ice cream while the 4th graders made brownies.
• Finally, whatever I make for dinner is what everyone eats, even if they don’t like it.  I don’t run a diner, so there are no alternate meals for kids.  I make sure that each meal includes things that everyone will like so that if they don’t like something else, they won’t starve.  Everyone has at least two bites of every thing, but I don’t insist on clean plates.

Like I said before, one of my girls is a really picky eater and I recently had a lengthy conversation with our pediatrician about this, but she approved the methods we’re using and said for us to stay the course.  The doctor also told my daughter to be more open-minded about food and to try new things with the idea that she might actually like them.  And, the doctor encouraged us to branch out even more and try foods — particularly fruits and veggies — that are totally new to us all. With any luck, my daughter will outgrow all this soon enough and will be a more adventurous eater.

So those are my recommendations.  What are some other ways you get your kids to eat better?