How to cook for kids so they'll actually eat. Oh boy, a common ongoing problem in my home at the moment. My four year old has definite opinions about what’s good and what is ‘yucky.’ What he loves one day he hates the next day. His eating behavior varies from a huge appetite to more of a grazer depending on how he feels and what he’s doing daily. It’s hard to get him to stop a fun activity and sit down to a meal.
Good nutrition is an important aspect of a child’s health, but what is a parent to do when their child is a picky eater? One good bit of information is that it’s really not necessary to add every important nutrient into dinner meals. Since little kids, like mine, often tend to prefer grazing throughout the day, a good option is to spread healthy choices in all of the snack options that you provide your child. That way, when dinner time comes and they’re in one of those picky moods they’ll at least have had something nutritious earlier in the day and all is not lost.
Kids love macaroni and cheese, but they can’t live on that alone; although my son would give it a go if allowed. Now days, most whole grain foods are available in convenient packaged varieties as well so there are more kid friendly choices out there, making meal time a little easier for parents. You can meet your child's calcium and dairy product needs by adding milk as the drink of choice for meals or a slice of cheese melted over their favorite vegetable. Ice cream, yogurt, and pudding also make excellent calcium rich treats, in moderation of course.
Try to get your children to try new things rather than cooking the same few meals over and over again just because you know they'll eat it. By cooking diverse meals, you cause a couple of things to occur. First of all, it helps prevent food boredom both for your kid and for yourself when you have to cook the same things repeatedly. Second, it lets your child experience new flavors and textures and form their own opinions about them. By trying new things they will learn not only about what foods they dislike but also the ones they really enjoy.
Parents often tend to forget that their kids are people too and have real opinions about what they don’t like to eat. If they have tried a food and never want to eat it each time it’s offered, then most likely they really don’t like the dish. Just as you have foods you like and dislike they also will develop tastes over time. Those tastes may also change in time as well. It's frustrating, I know, to spend time preparing a meal only to have your child push the plate away and refuse to even take a bite. A great way for you to spend time with your child and to let them have a hand in preparing the family meal is to ask them to help in the kitchen. Parents have found that kids who have a hand in cooking are more likely to eat the meal without complaining. A little bit of trickery, but hey, if it works and the kid learns something while getting their nutrients, then why not?
Sherry Frewerd
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