There’s enough research now that proves that what we eat, even as babies, will determine a lot about our health as we grow. Getting your child to be a well rounded eater as a toddler is important in keeping her fit and healthy throughout her life.
Too often, a child says she doesn’t like something without ever trying it. I feel that parents do a great disservice to their children by not encouraging them to taste an array of foods. Some parents cook one meal for themselves and something else for the children because the kids will only eat chicken fingers, pizza or macaroni and cheese. Once the children get into the habit of demanding such a limited menu, it will be more difficult for them to want to try new things as they get older.
The other problem is that those old standbys just aren’t as healthy as many other food choices, including fish, poultry that isn’t fried, and fresh fruit and vegetables. When you offer your child the same meal that everyone else in the family is enjoying, and you refuse to make her something different, she will learn that she has to taste what you have prepared. It sometimes helps to add ketchup, or some other sauce that can enhance (or disguise) the food’s flavor. You must tell her that she has to eat what everyone else is eating and refuse to make her something else if she won’t try it. Otherwise, she will quickly learn that you don’t really mean what you say, and that she doesn’t have to taste new foods.
Every Wednesday in our classroom of three year olds, we have healthy snack day, where one family brings in the healthy treat of their choice for the class. We have enjoyed a wide range of snacks, from raisins, to vegetables and dip, to yogurt. We encourage every child to at least taste whatever the snack it that day. Once they try it, if they don’t like it we will give them pretzels instead. Generally speaking, most kids like pretzels. But, if we offer them two different snacks, the healthy one and the pretzels, and they refuse to taste either, they have made the choice to skip snack for that day.
One day, the class read the story ‘Stone Soup’ and then made our own vegetable soup. Of course, we left out the stone, but we did include tomatoes, onions, carrots, potatoes, alphabet noodles and seasoning. The kids all tasted the soup, and many of them ate every drop. Becky’s mother picked her up that day, and when we told her what we had made, she was sure her daughter had refused to eat the soup. We surprised her when we told her how much Becky had actually enjoyed it. Her mother explained that at home Becky would turn her nose up at any vegetable. She asked what our trick was to get her to taste vegetable soup in school.
Part of the appeal was the fact that the children, including Becky, all helped prepare the soup. Each child was given a plastic knife, and they all helped cut the carrots and potatoes that we had softened ahead of time. Every child also had a turn to stir the soup. But, it was also about expectations. Becky knew that we expected her to taste the soup. Once her classmates began enjoying it, she realized that it was okay to like it too.
If you offer your child the foods that the rest of your family is eating, she has two choices – she can taste them, or she can be hungry. At some point, her hunger will force her to find something on the table that she’s willing to eat. But, if you give in and make mac and cheese and chicken nuggets for every meal, your child will never learn to eat new and healthy foods.
Learn more about preschool development at http://www.preschoolteach.blogspot.com, by preschool teacher and writer Terri Akman.
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