kids and vegetables

i have a problem i need help with, i have two little boys that will not eat vegetables justin 2 years and jake 4 years old, they ate them when they were babys so i know they like them but then they just went off them, iv tryed to hide it but they know that mash is not green the only thing i can hide is colliflower….help please

Answer #1

I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to kids, I could have had 10. I was only blessed with two and they too did not like their greens. My son started eating brocoli after i made a mountain of potatoes with little broco-trees on it, he had to be the giant who ate all the trees “Fe Fi Fo Fum”…!!! My daughter really liked the kid sized pizzas I made with two mushroom eyes, a pepperoni nose and a red peper slice mouth. Using veggies in a visually pleasing way sometimes works, or if you have access to a good blender, 1 cup of ice, 1 cup of berries, put in some veggies and only use an amount that can be disguised by the berries. Kids love shakes and it will be funny to see their reaction when they are old enough for you to confess you’ve been fooling them. Until then, it can be our little secret.

Kiki

Answer #2

I’ve always found that children will eat mostly what they see adults eating . If you ‘yummy’ up and ‘ummm-ummm good’ the vegetables as you eat them in front of them, they will eat them too. Always give little ones chewable vitamins that their doctor says is OK for them - Flintstones or whatever - then you know even if they don’t eat right that they are getting what they need for their health.

My mom used to force the food. Eat it or never leave the table sort of thing. It caused so much stress that my brother got nose bleeds from being so unhappy. He hated liver and would not eat it, but our mom made him. He is not healthier for being made to eat the liver and today he still hates liver and resents my mom for making him eat it

I learned as a kid that I could eat the yucky cooked carrots if I mashed them in with my potatoes. I still prefer them that way, but I find I can eat them plain too. Practically anything mom made me eat tasted better once it was mixed in with mashed potatoes!

Hope this helps you :)

Answer #3

thanks blueskies that may work i like the fe fi fo idea, ill give that a try

Answer #4

dont worry this is totally normal with little boys and girls they will get tricky but this the way my dad made me love veggies, when u steam brocolli put melted butter/chesse which ever on top. when ur going for the peas boil them and mass them in there rice is verly noticeable.you will learn how to hide this veggies and make them berly noticeable to your kids.

Answer #5

no i wont force them to eat them, but i would like them to try and eat veg, thank you for your ideas people i will give them a try and see if they work thanks again. x

Answer #6

I don’t have children, but having been a nanny I have gone through the same problem MANY times. One thing I realized was that I couldn’t hide it from them or force them to like or want to eat the vegetables on their own. Sometimes putting melted cheese (or weird things like ketchup, some kids like that) on the veggies can help. One thing that worked for me was setting a firm rule, each time I served them dinner they had to have 4 bites of their vegetables or else no dessert and no games afterwards. When there’s a reward at the end of the tunnel, and you set out a certain rule the kids can expect and practice regularly, they’re more likely to relent and just eat. Good luck!

Answer #7

Yup, yup, you should also try and make the veggies interesting. Like, instead of serving up a plate of plain old cooked veggies, make faces and different shapes with them. You should also get them involved with the food preparation, kids are ALOT more likely to eat something they helped eat. Don’t worry to much about it though, my lil brother went through that phase, but he’s fine now.

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