How to get kids to eat vegetables?

For many kids, veggies = demons from hell. From one day to the next, while your precious heir never hesitated to eat anything within his reach (edible or not, we are still talking about a small human being who thought that the soles of his shoes were worthy of a starred restaurant ) here he systematically avoids his plate and its container, agreeing to eat only pasta, chocolate and breaded fish.

So okay, pasta is good, but it’s not going to feed him properly, nutritionally. But what can we do, as good parents relatively exhausted, in the face of the systematic refusals of little Marie-Louise who is in front of her plate? Well, let’s try these few tricks and keep our fingers crossed.

Understand the source of the problem

Refusal to feed a child can be a major source of anxiety for parents. When they see that only cheesy pasta shells find favor with their heir’s eyes, they panic, tell themselves their precious one will develop deficiencies, suffer from malnutrition, end up burning cars in adolescence or worse: become a fan of Jul. Yes, a parent at the end of the rope, it goes very quickly into drama.

But otherwise, what if you find yourself in this situation and we sit down for two minutes to analyze this: Does your child refuse to eat anything other than pasta – or any other food – absolutely anywhere, or only at home? Do you eat everything in kindergarten or at school? Has the management team looking after him ever called you to tell you, frankly, it was hot, he didn’t eat anything?

If this is the case, consult a health professional, it’s not trivial and you have to dig in to see what’s going on. If not and it’s only with you that it’s complicated: all the better, it will be “easier” to manage. I put the word “easy” in quotation marks because you know very well that it won’t even be a piece of cake, you are parents in 2023 with all the injunctions that follow, so it won’t be done either finger in the nose. But at least there are no pathologies, it is still taken for granted.

If your child refuses to just eat something other than pasta, it doesn’t matter, it’s just a phase (as often happens in parenthood). He’ll pass, often by himself, and your child will only eat breaded fish until he’s 37. I promise that one day he will eat something else and we can help him speed up the process.

Making a child eat everything – take it easy

Yeah, first thing to know: let’s avoid forcing a child to eat. Do you remember when you were younger when you were told” you won’t get dessert if you don’t finish the dish ” OR ” you don’t leave this table without finishing your broccoli “. There was also the option ” Do you know the number of children who don’t have enough to eat? Then finish it all! Yes, our parents and grandparents screwed up on this, we can tell, us and our TCA.

Food is such a sensitive and personal subject that you should try, as much as possible, not to make it a huge thing. Will he die if he doesn’t eat vegetables at every meal for two months? NO. Especially since he eats it in daycare, it’s okay, let’s relax.

Jean-Eudes won’t eat his peas? Okay, but he has to at least taste one to know what he tastes like. Tasting almost everything, without forcing it, adapting to the moment, is also an option.

Helping your child eat everything without pressure

When faced with a child who has an aversion to vegetables, here are some tips to help him tame them, gently:

• Involve him in the preparation of dinner, finding him an observation tower (or a chair to climb on) and offering him to cut the vegetables with suitable tools. Many brands have launched into cutting objects especially for children, which prevent them from cutting a finger instead of the courgettes they wanted to cut. Involving him is a good way to help him find out what he’s going to eat, plus he’ll be proud as a peacock to have helped prepare dinner as an adult.
• Prepare meals that are fun to eat and that don’t put vegetables at the center, physically speaking. Recipes for vegetable pies, zucchini fritters, tomato and leek pie… Inspiration is not lacking!
• Let him choose to serve himself. Instead of bringing him the bowl with the ready-made meal, he can participate by putting whatever he wants on the plate. Leveling motor skills and awakening the senses is not bad. Of course, there shouldn’t be a single dish of pasta on the table, otherwise it won’t work. But if you put several bowls with different things in them, offering them to help themselves, it can work.
• For the little ones, the compartment plate is a good option. Kind of on the same principle as helping yourself, seeing different categories of food on his plate lets him know he has a choice, and that he’s in control of the situation, regardless of you.
• Let him wander with his hands. Of course we all like to have a clean floor without grains of rice, but for a little one, the meal also passes through touch and sight. Let her grab what she wants to eat with her little fingers and pop it in the oven, DME – kid-led food diversification – style and everyone will be happy and relaxed.
• Let go. Yes, I know, it’s not easy. But again, she remembers it’s just a phase and her unique love of pasta will eventually pass. As long as she eats something else at lunchtime when she’s in the cafeteria or daycare, that’s fine.

If you’re freaking out about the upcoming big vacation and the fact that he’ll be home with you morning, noon, and night, forget it. Offer to participate in meals, eat all together, offer to taste everything, don’t react angrily if he swings his plate on the floor, and breathe through his stomach if this happens.

Yes, it’s a painful phase, yes it can be stressful, but it will pass eventually, like everything else. Again, rare are the adults that feed only on shells!

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