Patient's question:
The child is over 6 years old and only likes to eat snacks, dislikes eating meals, especially vegetables. What should I do?Doctor's answer:
Among the many picky foods children have, vegetables are the most challenging for moms. Many babies resist vegetables, so making them love vegetables is a tough task. However, meals need to be eaten one bite at a time, and getting children to love vegetables requires a step-by-step approach with the right methods, encouraging them to eat vegetables voluntarily.To help children develop a love for vegetables, parents should frequently praise these foods at the dinner table, allowing children to develop a fondness for them through osmosis. If parents show enthusiasm for various vegetables and appreciate their diverse flavors, children will be influenced and gradually accept the fresh tastes of different vegetables.
Cooking Vegetables to Suit Children’s Preferences
Children have limited chewing and swallowing abilities, so the pieces of food should be small, and the seasoning should be light—avoiding excessive saltiness, spiciness, or overly stimulating flavors. The color arrangement should be as colorful and visually appealing as possible to attract children’s attention.
Making Vegetables a Regular at the Table
This mom prepares colorful rice every day. In addition to white rice, she adds sweet corn, sweet peas, tiny diced carrots, and small mushrooms to the pot, a few drops of sesame oil, making the rice exceptionally beautiful and tempting, greatly increasing the baby’s interest.
At the same time, she also makes a variety of flavorful mixed vegetable salads and adds many fresh, light-cooked vegetables. The house no longer prepares pure meat dishes but always pairs them with celery, green peppers, etc., when stir-frying meat, or with potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and kelp when stewing meat. When eating noodles, she no longer just adds fried sauce but pairs it with cucumbers, bean sprouts, blanched cabbage strips, and scalded spinach leaves, among other vegetables.
As a result, the little one has eaten quite a bit of vegetables.
Hiding Vegetables
Many children dislike carrots, so moms shouldn’t force them to eat carrots like little rabbits. Instead, clever moms hide carrots in their meals, allowing children to eat them without realizing it.