How to Get your Child to Enjoy Healthy Foods: Free Tips

If you have children, then you probably know that watching your child take his/her first bite of a fruit or vegetable is one of the most gratifying things as a parent. After all, you are well familiar with the importance of healthy foods, fruit, and vegetables.

But how exactly do you go around developing a child who loves and appreciates the benefits of fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods? Most taste preferences develop in a child’s first few years and especially the first year. It is therefore essential to instill a love for fruits and vegetable in your children as early as possible. Using these strategies could help you do this.

1. It is all about getting the timing right.
   For example, it is always best to feed your child in the morning or when he/she has just woken up. Ensure that there are no distractions and make sure to pay attention to the signs that the baby has had enough; signs such as pursed lips or head-shaking.
2. Use variety to your advantage.
   Once the baby has learned how to eat, introduce him/her to all sorts of new foods. Once you know which foods your child likes most, use them to bring in even more new foods.
   
3. Don’t drop food just because he/she didn’t like it the first time.
   Yes, your baby didn’t like papaya the first time. But maybe he/she just wasn’t in a good mood. So, try it again, and again and again. According to research, it can take as many as 15 tries to get a child to like a certain food. Also, cook the foods in different ways and with different servings.
   
4. Give spices a try as well.
   It turns out that babies can actually enjoy spiced foods. Try ginger, sage, mint, cinnamon or even mild pepper. You could just discover that your baby loves the heat.
5. Help your child to get familiar with the foods; help them connect with it.
   A simple way of doing this would be teaching them the names of the foods by repetition. Another good way would be to read the books that have the names of different fruits then feeding them those fruits.
6. Introduce the child to the signals and stimuli of food by letting the child accompany you in the kitchen whenever you are cooking.
   This will help them get close and personal with the foods by exposing them to the intricate details of the cooking process. For example, the smell of onions roasting or even the sound of soup simmering.
   
7. Eating together with your child is also a good way of getting the child to enjoy eating food.
   When your child sees you and the rest of the family enjoying food so much, they are likely to enjoy eating food as well. What’s more, eating together enables your child to develop speaking skills as well as exposing your child to the different cultures in the world at an early stage.
   
8. Remember that actions speak louder than words.
   Don’t just tell your child to eat something; show him/her that whatever you want them to eat is good by eating it yourself.
   
9. Make the foods more aesthetically pleasing.
   There are many ways to do this e.g. adding blueberries to the foods they do not seem to like or even make face shaped pancakes and sandwiches.
   
10. Remember all children are different.
    Just because your sisters' child likes sushi, it doesn’t mean that your toddler has to like it too. There is no competition​ seeking to find a winner for the child eating the most foods or certain foods. Have the right attitude; give your child time.