Parents’ Poll: Food Fights!
"Superheroes eat veggies!" Read what you shared about encouraging kids to taste new foods and eat what's good for them.
Kids' eating habits are a source of concern—and conflict—for the majority of parents who answered our poll. Read on to discover the challenges you and other parents face and the creative solutions you shared.
Do you and your child(ren) ever have disagreements about eating habits?
Yes — 88%
No — 12%If yes, what are you most concerned about?
Picky eating — 57%
Eating junk food — 38%
Overeating — 5%How do you encourage your kid(s) to try new foods?
Many of you shared fun variations on the "one-bite rule."
- I have kids eat as many bites as they are years old before they can eat familiar foods.
- I always ask, "What if you'd never tasted [insert favorite food here]?" That usually gets a smile and one bite down the hatch!
- I tell my kids that new foods are like new friends—you don't know if you'll like them unless you give them a chance.
- I don't give them late-afternoon snacks, so they are hungry enough at dinner to try one bite of something new.
- I suggest they try one bite and describe how it tasted.
- If the food was grown or made by a local farmer or merchant, we make that a point of interest.
Here are some other ways you encourage your kids to try new foods:
- The kids get a hole punch on a card for each new food they try.
- I have them cook with me. I introduce new foods often, and we make them in different ways.
- I eat the food myself, hoping to set an example.
- When we eat out and I order something new, I let my children have a taste.
- The Sneaky Chef Cookbook worked until the older child read the book to the younger child. (After that, they wouldn't eat the food.)
- I put new foods into interesting plates and bowls.
- I serve new foods with ketchup!
How do you get your kid(s) to eat healthy foods?
You made some great points about healthful eating!
- We try to count our five daily helpings of fruits and veggies. That gets them excited about eating more fruits and veggies at dinnertime.
- I tell my son that superheroes eat veggies, especially the really colorful ones. My daughter tries what her brother does.
- Our daughter makes her own lunch, and we talk about balancing it (fruit, dairy, starch, veggie, etc,), so she's learning how to balance a meal on her own.
- A snack has to be "real food," but I do give kids some choice (cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers, etc.).
- I try to teach them that fruits and vegetables are needed to help them grow strong, so they can be healthy enough to do what they want when they are older.
Food is a loaded topic for many of us. Here are some of your additional comments and suggestions. We hope they provide food for thought.
- I was raised in a household of desserts as rewards with a clean-your-plate mentality and have battled with weight since preteen years. I don't follow any of that with my daughter. We have frank discussions about food and health (without being crazy). I have always offered her healthy stuff. She's eight now and loves the occasional milkshake or sundae (who doesn't?), but she's also very healthy and makes good food choices.
- You can't set up any "forbidden" rules. You just need to teach healthy balancing.
- I wish the schools would allow kids to eat a la carte more. To get a yogurt, you have to buy a whole meal. I'd like my child to get some foods along with her meal, but that is sometimes impossible. I think schools should be allowed to be more creative, including hiring real chefs and using locally grown foods.
- We tested our son's cholesterol and found it was 240, which is really high. I'm trying to keep him off sugars and fatty foods. It's hard to avoid attending birthday parties with cake and ice cream or being around other kids who eat candy and cookies.
- I wish organic food (which is good for you and good for the planet) wasn't so expensive. Doesn't it seem wrong that processed "food" costs less then unprocessed food?
- Sometimes, you have to let the picky eater slide. You can't force them or it makes the matter worse. A kid is much more likely to try new things and eat healthier by watching his or her parent set a good example and offer positive encouragement.