There are many ways that you can help your child to develop healthy eating habits. Even if your child is a picky eater, you can help him to develop healthy eating habits.
Here are 5 simple suggestions:
Here are 5 simple suggestions:
- Set a good example. If you want your child to eat broccoli, let him see you eat them.
- Offer vegetables often. They should be offered with lunch and dinner, and whenever possible at breakfast or as a snack. Don't think about French fries as vegetables in this case.
- Use colorful vegetables to brighten meals and raise your child's curiosity.
- Introduce vegetables early. Between 4 and 6 months is a good time to start. This will give the child a chance to get familiar with the taste of vegetables before he becomes too familiar with foods that have a more sweet taste.
- Don't withhold other food or punish your child if he refuses to eat his vegetables. Wait a few days or even weeks before introducing the same vegetable, then try again. Continue to do this until you find a variety of vegetables that the child will eat.
- Prepare vegetables in a variety of ways - soups, salads, steamed, grilled, juiced or whatever until you find ways that he is most likely to eat them.
Encourage children who are old enough to take part in the planning, shopping, preparing and serving of vegetables. Then, chances are your child won't look at vegetables as some kind of weird food. Instead, he will see it as a normal part of his daily diet.
