Tips to Get Children to Eat Healthy

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JEDDIE89
JEDDIE89 Posts: 17
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I was just curious to see if anyone had any good tips to encourage children to eat healthy? I have a four-year-old son that literally will not eat anything with nutritional value. I am trying to eat better myself, so it's very frustrating when all he wants is junk. Obviously I'm the parent and I should have the final word over what he eats, but he would rather not eat than eat something that is actually good for him. I would like to instill good eating habits while he is young, but it is not going so well. Any advice?
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  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
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    I have three children, ages 4, 3, and 19 mos.

    My oldest is by far the pickiest of the bunch.

    The rule in our house is that if you want seconds of anything, you have to try at least one bite of everything on your plate. I don't care if they don't eat; they won't starve themselves. Sometimes my oldest will eat only grapes for dinner; that is fine.

    I never force them to eat anything. I respect strong food/texture preferences (my oldest hates runny sauces, so I just don't even bother putting them on his plate). The rule is, if you don't like something (or say you don't like something), then you don't have to eat it, but you have to leave it on your plate.

    Your job is to supply the food and decide what is served; his job is to eat the food and decide how much.

    Good luck!
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
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    Hi Jeddie,

    I'm no expert, but I've gotten my 'lil one to eat baby carrots, tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans, asparagus, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. I consider that a success! As far as tactics--

    + Aim for a variety of colors. E.g., no orange veggies typically means low vitamin A!

    + Add something decadent. For example, chop bacon into green beans, cheese sauce your broccoli, dip celery or carrots into peanut butter, make dinner or dessert fries out of the zucchini or sweet potatoes. :)

    + Leverage fruits when you can. Vitamin C is just as easily served up via oranges as spinach!

    + Mix in tiny bits. It only takes 4 baby carrots to hit your Vitamin A for the day. Could you shred a tiny amount into their burger, meatloaf, or smoothie without calling attention to them?

    + Tie seconds or treats to at least trying their veggies.

    + Even veggies sitting on their plates is a step forward.

    + Make it a game. Yes, 4-year-old's still get an occasional kick out of being fed an "airplane".
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    Like DrJenO I did not cook special meals or provide any other food. If they did not eat they would not starve. They were required to at least try a bit of everything (at least until my middle one developed an OAS-oral allergy syndrome) and could pick what they wanted more or less. I also just did not have the junk in the house.
  • JEDDIE89
    JEDDIE89 Posts: 17
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    Thanks for the advice ladies and good job on getting your children to make healthy choices! Most of the blame is on me, I'll be the first to admit that - he is a very picky eater (like me), so it's been a challenge just to get him to eat in the first place and I do let him eat what he wants because I don't want him to starve. I starved myself for many years, so I know the feeling of being hungry and I don't want him to go through that, but like my co-worker and you ladies have stated, he's not going to starve. Eventually, he will eat what is provided. Food has always been a big issue for me, but I don't want that burden to fall on my son. He is the reason I am trying to get and stay healthy.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Honestly....kids will not starve themselves. When my kids (ages 8 and 5) ask for junk and swear they're wasting away, I tell them they can have yogurt, fruit, veggies, cheese, etc. If they turn those down I tell them that obviously they aren't as hungry as they think. I also make sure they drink lots of water, as thirst can be misinterpreted as hunger. They're great veggie eaters, so if I slice up a cucumber and cut up some tomatoes for them to eat, they're on it like flies on honey!

    But I also think it's a balance you have to play. Give them some of what they want (moderation is the key) and some of the stuff you want them to have. An example lunch for my kids is Mac and Cheese with a plate full of cut up veggies to share. They actually fight over the veggies!

    Our goal is to teach our kids that you can eat anything you want...but in moderation. 1 piece of candy as a treat. Not 5.
  • blueboxgeek
    blueboxgeek Posts: 574 Member
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    I hide things lol. They will eat Spaghetti bolognaise so I make my own sauce and add fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions and mushrooms before I blend up the sauce.

    I have been known to mash cauliflower in to their mash potato.

    I once put orange food colouring in to their potato so we could have "fun" potatoes. Ever since then I have been able to feed them carrot / swede mash or sweet potato mash without them complaining as they just think it is orange mash potato lol.

    I recently bought a nutribullet and my boys love chosing fruit for their smoothie (which has replaced their after dinner chocolate snack). But once they have picked out the fruit they want I send them out of the kitchen so I can sneak in veggies without them knowing and they always drink it.

    Also if they are involved in the preparing a food, they are more likely to eat it. My 8 year old never ate carrots until I got him helping me out peeling them and my 5 year old adds all the veggies to the pan (cold pan lol) and when they eat the seem to take some pride in it.

    Also, both mine have eaten tomatoes and watercress after they grew it themselves.
  • wannastayfit
    wannastayfit Posts: 25 Member
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    I have 2 very fit and active kids and have worked hard to instill better eating habits than I have. Here are a few things that worked for me.

    When they were 2 and 4, we had a 10 day period when at dinner, they had to eat their veggie first. This was hard, but very effective.

    My girls don't get sliced bread (when we have it any more) until they've eaten a decent part of their protein/fat/good carbs meal

    Introducing beans took a long time - when we made tacos, I made their first taco have 1 bean. 2nd taco they could have whatever they wanted. This took time to add to the 1 bean, but today my kids eat beans like no other. Just last night, my now 10 year old wolfed down an edemame/black bean and chick pea salad and actually liked it.

    We rarely have dessert - I like them to have fun treats (graham crackers with nutella) at 3:00 instead of after dinner.

    We have plenty of times when we head out and get a fun dessert - cupcakes, yogurts, ice cream. We don't deny the fun stuff. They still eat pb&j and I encourage them to get more junky chips when we are out to lunch - because we never have them at home. For my 12 year old's birthday, we're making choc chip cookie + oreo + brownie cake - how fun.

    I also add carrots to most of my soups and have a carrot cake smoothie recipe we like. I roast my cauliflower which is like candy to them.

    And now that they are 12 and 10, we talk about good choices and treat moderation. The other day we went out to dinner and my 12 year old was shocked when her personal pizza added up to 1,000 calories! Oh well, lesson learned.

    But the bottom line was tough love to start and then 80/20 rule of moderation + fun.

    Good luck! You can do this!
  • Sunbrooke
    Sunbrooke Posts: 632 Member
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    I always have plenty of fruit ready to go; like bananas, apples, and cut melon.

    Any veggie with whatever dip they like. Even if they eat it with ranch, they are still getting used to the veggie. Peanut butter and guacamole are good too.

    Edamame. My son always thought these were fun.

    Air popped pop corn. Plain or with nutritional yeast. Kids have strong taste buds. They often like pop corn plain.

    Small boiled or baked potatoes. Brown rice topped with a scrambled egg.

    Kale or spinach with banana in a smoothie. Best served in a special cup to make it fun green instead of salad green.

    Lettuce served with dressing on the side to dip. I think the whole salad was just intimidating for my son when he was little so I deconstructed it.

    Banana/rolled oat "cookie". The ones where you mash up the banana and add rolled oats, then bake.

    Puffed no sugar added cereal with banana and a little honey. My son is addicted to puffed millet. He likes that it is chewy.

    Chia pudding with a little jam. I was worried when my son wanted to bring chia pudding to school as his favorite dessert because he wanted to bring sample for the class, but I was shocked to hear that all but three kids liked it.

    I think the biggest thing is to not worry too much about the food looking like a meal. Kids like plain things that are more like snacks. You don't have to cook anything separate, just keep simple things on hand to offer him when he is hungry.
  • srk369
    srk369 Posts: 256 Member
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    "They will not starve themselves"

    I laugh now whenever I hear this! I know in the case of a 4 year old this is probably true but I was always told this and believed it until my little girl really tried this. She ended up hospitalized for a week with test after test and a feeding tube and the end result was the doctor saying "Sorry, she is just really stubborn".

    I know it's a struggle, I have 3 kids who all have such different appetites. I think my kids eat pretty good so when my youngest had a friend over who had to bring her own food, I was astounded. Packaged mini muffins for breakfast, lunchables, microwavable mac and cheese and ramen...2 days worth. At 10 o'clock at night she called her mom to say good night and her mom asked if she had eaten recently...said she should go eat before bed. I had to take her down and cook the mac and cheese so she could eat before bed. I was absolutely amazed. You don't want it to get to this point that they can't travel/stay with friends and not be able to try new things.

    Good luck to you!!
  • aliakynes
    aliakynes Posts: 352 Member
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    Leave healthy snacks within reach (on a coffee table, end table, step stool, anywhere he'll pass by it often). I leave out small cups of cut up sweet peppers, carrots, cucumbers, celery, etc. and the toddler I watch during the day empties them out by the time she goes home (she's 2 and the only thing she will not eat atm are potatoes).

    More importantly, put them on your plate as well as his, even if he refuses to eat it (at first). Simple exposure to seeing them often and being eaten around the house will make them more appealing (especially if he sees you eating them). My boys were fascinated that my husband and I liked snacking on roasted seaweed and every day they would ask for a taste. They ended up with the nasty face and gave it back for weeks but insisted on trying them each time they caught us with it. Now they ask for it when they see it in a store.

    Like above, I also have a rule with my kids that they need to try things even if they didn't like it the last time they tried it. I explain that their taste buds are changing as they grow and they might like it this time. They used to have issues with tomatoes and recently found out that they like them in this one particular sandwich. They still wont eat it most other times but they're willing to try it the next time it comes around. The first time my older son saw Saag he said it was poison and cried ... It was at a restaurant so we told him if he didn't like it we'd get him something else; it's one of his favorite Indian dishes now.

    Anyway, your son young so I wouldn't worry as his taste buds are changing every day. He just needs more exposure to it being on his plate and being around other people who enjoy it. The next time other kids come to play or you have a party be sure to offer healthy snacks for them too as that will make a big impression (peer pressure wins out a lot).
  • Sunbrooke
    Sunbrooke Posts: 632 Member
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    I agree with just leaving little snacks on the coffee table. If you ask them and they say they won't try something, then they feel more forced. They also may try things when they don't think you are watching.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Hi, I was just curious to see if anyone had any good tips to encourage children to eat healthy? I have a four-year-old son that literally will not eat anything with nutritional value. I am trying to eat better myself, so it's very frustrating when all he wants is junk. Obviously I'm the parent and I should have the final word over what he eats, but he would rather not eat than eat something that is actually good for him. I would like to instill good eating habits while he is young, but it is not going so well. Any advice?

    A child will not starve rather than eat healthy foods. They may complain, they skip meals, they may cry or throw a tantrum. As unpleasant as their behavior may be, if healthy food is all that is available, or treats are only offered once the heatlhy food is eaten, they will eat. They simply do not have the mental capacity to go on a hunger strike.

    I don't know how you are defining "healthy food" but most children do like some healthy foods like burritos or tacos, even fish tacos. Pasta with a tomato based sauce and meat and cheese. Soups and stews. Peanut butter sandwiches. Fruit and nuts. A lot of them don't care for greens, but you can even sneak these in by serving things like Green Eggs and Ham (put spinach in scrambled eggs to make them green). Or add finely chopped greens to pasta sauce, soups or stews.

    And many children will eat non-lettuce salads - egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, pasta salad. Just add a decent amount of chopped vegetables. Try using hummus or mashed avocado instead of mayo for these types of salads, or in deviled eggs.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    My kids tend to like raw veggies more than cooked. I've also been known to do broccoli with cheese sauce (my boys love broccoli but my daughter will only eat it with cheese sauce).

    As for other things, here are a couple of my kids favorites that are nutritious (or moreso than a regular recipe). The thing with kids is that they need higher fat foods along side the veggies and fruits (never have any trouble getting them to eat fresh fruit). I also eat all of these meals. With a little planning, they can fit into my days quite nicely.

    http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/skinny-fettuccine-alfredo-recipe/#_a5y_p=1084066

    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-and-dumplings/

    http://foodideasforfamilies.blogspot.com/2012/05/mexican-chicken-ring.html

    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/64246732156522341/

    http://www.balticmaid.com/2012/12/spiced-baked-sweet-potato-fries/

    http://joyfulmommaskitchen.com/white-chicken-enchiladas/

    http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/orzo-with-parmesan-and-basil-2/

    http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-garlic-chicken-5478

    http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/04/cheddar-cracker-chicken.html#VsorLrAbbwhSwYMR.32

    OK, this one does not top any healthy list...but so good LOL: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/04/ham-and-cheese-sliders.html
  • PinkyFett
    PinkyFett Posts: 842 Member
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    Only buy healthy stuff? Give them healthy options as opposed to chips or fries. I have my girls pick either a piece of fruit or yogurt for snack most days. Should have been like this from the beginning, but now I'm cleaning up my own mess of giving them junk. They are 5 and will be 4 in 2 weeks. I also don't buy soda or juice and I'm working on getting them into drinking almond milk over cow's milk.

    Basically, you have to put your foot down wnd say this is what is for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Eat or don't. Trust me, when they know you're serious, they will eat.
  • JEDDIE89
    JEDDIE89 Posts: 17
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    Hi, I was just curious to see if anyone had any good tips to encourage children to eat healthy? I have a four-year-old son that literally will not eat anything with nutritional value. I am trying to eat better myself, so it's very frustrating when all he wants is junk. Obviously I'm the parent and I should have the final word over what he eats, but he would rather not eat than eat something that is actually good for him. I would like to instill good eating habits while he is young, but it is not going so well. Any advice?

    A child will not starve rather than eat healthy foods. They may complain, they skip meals, they may cry or throw a tantrum. As unpleasant as their behavior may be, if healthy food is all that is available, or treats are only offered once the heatlhy food is eaten, they will eat. They simply do not have the mental capacity to go on a hunger strike.

    I don't know how you are defining "healthy food" but most children do like some healthy foods like burritos or tacos, even fish tacos. Pasta with a tomato based sauce and meat and cheese. Soups and stews. Peanut butter sandwiches. Fruit and nuts. A lot of them don't care for greens, but you can even sneak these in by serving things like Green Eggs and Ham (put spinach in scrambled eggs to make them green). Or add finely chopped greens to pasta sauce, soups or stews.

    And many children will eat non-lettuce salads - egg salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, pasta salad. Just add a decent amount of chopped vegetables. Try using hummus or mashed avocado instead of mayo for these types of salads, or in deviled eggs.

    I know this is going to be cringe-worthy, but his favorite food is chicken nuggets (frozen, processed pieces of mashed up "chicken" or McNuggets) and fish sticks (frozen, processed, mashed up pieces of "fish"). He does not like any condiments or sauces, soups, tacos, pasta, hamburger, turkey, sandwiches (other than PB&J), or veggies (only green beans and corn on the cob). I have tried buying the "healthier" chicken nuggets, like Earth's Best brand (100% whole grain breading, no antibiotics/hormones, etc), but he complains that they taste too much like chicken and he won't touch real chicken. He ate so well when he was younger (almost only fruits and veggies), but it has really become a problem lately. I don't want to deprive him, but I don't want him to be eating such junk. I'm not perfect by any means and still have a lot to learn about parenting, so maybe it's more about how I parent than that he just won't eat healthy (he doesn't even try new things because he knows if he doesn't eat, I will make him chicken nuggets, rather than let him go hungry).
  • kelseyhere
    kelseyhere Posts: 1,123 Member
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    Roasted veggies in olive oil can be very delicious and child friendly. The trick with veggies is to prepare them in a way kids will like. Even if it means sprinkling a little shredded cheese on their broccoli, at least they are eating broccoli.

    Another great way to get kids to eat healthy is to encourage them to help you cook and prepare. If they have fun making it, they willa almost definitely eat it. Here is a recipe I like that is very kid friendly: http://empoweredsustenance.com/butternut-squash-pizza-crust-gaps-paleo/

    Kids of any age can dress up the mini pizzas with their favorite toppings.

    The other thing to pay attention to is what foods is he being exposed to outside the home? When I was a kid I didn't even know Little Debbie existed, until I checked out my best friend's pantry. After that I couldn't stop pestering my mom for those brownies. Try to make sure the moms of his friends are on board with the healthy eating. Kids want to eat what their friends eat. And minimize the TV time, kids are exposed to so much advertising on TV that is designed specifically to make them want to eat crap. If they don't see the ads, they won't know the products exist.
  • JEDDIE89
    JEDDIE89 Posts: 17
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    "They will not starve themselves"

    I laugh now whenever I hear this! I know in the case of a 4 year old this is probably true but I was always told this and believed it until my little girl really tried this. She ended up hospitalized for a week with test after test and a feeding tube and the end result was the doctor saying "Sorry, she is just really stubborn".

    I know it's a struggle, I have 3 kids who all have such different appetites. I think my kids eat pretty good so when my youngest had a friend over who had to bring her own food, I was astounded. Packaged mini muffins for breakfast, lunchables, microwavable mac and cheese and ramen...2 days worth. At 10 o'clock at night she called her mom to say good night and her mom asked if she had eaten recently...said she should go eat before bed. I had to take her down and cook the mac and cheese so she could eat before bed. I was absolutely amazed. You don't want it to get to this point that they can't travel/stay with friends and not be able to try new things.

    Good luck to you!!

    I did this to my Mom when I was younger. I refused to eat and ended up in the hospital. I refused to eat in the hospital and had to have an Endoscopy. They couldn't find anything wrong so they put me on Prevacid and sent me home. I obviously was stubborn, so I'm concerned that my son will follow in my footsteps.
  • JEDDIE89
    JEDDIE89 Posts: 17
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    Roasted veggies in olive oil can be very delicious and child friendly. The trick with veggies is to prepare them in a way kids will like. Even if it means sprinkling a little shredded cheese on their broccoli, at least they are eating broccoli.

    Another great way to get kids to eat healthy is to encourage them to help you cook and prepare. If they have fun making it, they willa almost definitely eat it. Here is a recipe I like that is very kid friendly: http://empoweredsustenance.com/butternut-squash-pizza-crust-gaps-paleo/

    Kids of any age can dress up the mini pizzas with their favorite toppings.

    The other thing to pay attention to is what foods is he being exposed to outside the home? When I was a kid I didn't even know Little Debbie existed, until I checked out my best friend's pantry. After that I couldn't stop pestering my mom for those brownies. Try to make sure the moms of his friends are on board with the healthy eating. Kids want to eat what their friends eat. And minimize the TV time, kids are exposed to so much advertising on TV that is designed specifically to make them want to eat crap. If they don't see the ads, they won't know the products exist.

    He really only sees other kids at daycare and I'm pretty sure that he is at least served fruit and veggies there (he always talks about how he had them on his plate, but didn't eat them). Honestly, I don't know the menu there and don't really have control over it (unless I was able to make him is own lunch). He doesn't watch a lot of TV and the little that he does watch is PBS Kids, so no commercials. I don't drink pop, therefore, it is never around at home. He does like juice, but I always make sure it's 100%, although, juice has tons of sugar and carbs. He is very active, so he seems to burn off the junk he does eat, but I still would like him to eat better. He really enjoys making whole wheat pancakes with me (I make them with almond milk and sneak in some chia seeds too), but he always wants to add food coloring, which is cool, but not the best for you. The only up-side to that is that he doesn't like syrup, so he will eat those plain.
  • CA_Underdog
    CA_Underdog Posts: 733 Member
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    I know this is going to be cringe-worthy, but his favorite food is chicken nuggets (frozen, processed pieces of mashed up "chicken" or McNuggets)
    The main problem with the highly-processed chicken nuggets is they tend to be high-sodium. Whether or not the chicken is organic doesn't change that. I had to do quite a bit of searching before happening upon a couple brands with less than 2mg of sodium per calorie--Bell & Evans and Wellshire KIds.

    The good brands are pricy. Another option, for those with more time than money, is making your own!

    It's worth keeping an eye on the ketchup, which also tends to be high in sodium. I have a couple times made fresh ketchup, with the help of my children, low in salt and sweetened to their taste.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    My kids also always had access to fresh garden veggies in the summer. Planting a small garden or even just a few pots with some lettuce or sweet peas may spark some interest in these veggies.

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