Get Your Kids To Eat!

Eating should be pleasurable. Not a daily battle.

You put a lot of love into preparing nutritious meals for your family, and it’s time for you to have a fun way to get your kids to eat. The days of struggling, coercing, and bribing are over.

I’ve pulled together wisdom from all over the internet, as well as tips that have worked in my family. Over 40 hours of research are boiled down to the best and easiest techniques that will restore peace to meal times in your home. The result? Your blood pressure is normal and your children are actually eating those vegetables!

Scientific research shows that children eat a balanced diet over an entire week! Not usually in one day. Getting your kids to eat is easy because you are already doing it – serving healthy food. I’m going to help you change your perspective on the best ways to actually get your kids to eat. It’s a little like when we learned that the earth was round instead of square. The earth didn’t change – our perspective about it changed.

What’s Your Job?

Always remember that you are raising an adult, not a child. It’s not your job to constantly nag your children to try just one bite. Your job is to prepare and present nutritious meals to your children. That’s it! Nothing fancy. Put it all on their plate. Don’t ask them what they want. Don’t make them something different. Just serve the food and sit down together to enjoy your meal. Your children will see you eating and will gradually try different foods, because they want to be just like you.

“But Ana, I’m already doing that and it’s not working.” I know eating issues can’t be summed up in one paragraph, which is why I’m working on a comprehensive program to help you. It’s coming very soon. But in the mean time, here are my favorite five techniques.

1. Timing: Always serve veggies and salad as an appetizer while you’re cooking dinner.
   They’re hungry! Cut up carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, celery, red peppers, etc., into sticks and serve with little dip cups of their favorite salad dressing. They might not touch it the first few days, but over time hunger will drive your children to try them.
2. Size: Cut foods into different shapes.
   One day, Bradley (age 5) asked me if I would slice baby carrots into little discs. I asked if the little circles tasted different. He put one in his mouth, crunched a few times, looked up deep in thought, then side to side, “Yes! They do taste different!”
3. Presentation: Have your child help you create Sampler Bowls.
   Pull out cans of olives, kidney beans, baby corn. While they help you strain and rinse them, ask your child to sample them for you to see if they taste good. Pull out a few jars of different pickles and have your child transfer them to bowls too. Don’t stress over the drips and mess they make. It’s easy to wipe up. Children love to see all of the colors and they begin to take ownership in the appetizers because they are helping you.
4. Participation: Bring them in the kitchen.
   Children love to help in my kitchen, because they get to be the first to sample the food. Teach your children how to properly use kitchen knives. You’ll be able to supervise so their skills improve under your watchful eyes. Children’s self-esteem grows when you trust them with the potentially dangerous cooking tasks.
5. Allow Grazing: Create a Snack Bar. 
   Fill up canning jars with dried fruits, nuts, trail mix, and healthy energy bars. Keep these out on a shelf or counter and let your children nibble when they are feeling hungry. Teach them what a proper serving is of each. Have your children use little metal or glass dip cups to scoop out a small serving. This will satisfy their hunger with healthy options which provide essential nutrients for their brains. By helping your children maintain steady blood sugar levels, you will experience much happier children.

You Can Do This!

Getting your kids to eat should be easy to implement and remember. Try one or two of these techniques tonight. You could see results in as little as 24 hours and your children might start to ask for vegetables every night! Yes, it is possible, because this has happened in my home.

Optimal health depends on eating a balanced diet with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Your child’s health today and 50 years from now will be influenced by you. What do you want them to remember about mealtimes – fighting or laughter and joy?

It’s time to enjoy eating with your children.