Sunday 5 January 2014

Fruit and veg


HOW do you get children to eat 5 portions of fruit and veg every day? This question troubles me frequently and I'd be glad of your advice.

At the moment my baby is absolutely fine, as the others were at his age. He loves fruit and veg and will chow it all down with glee. My 5 year old (pictured here) can understand the rationale that she has to eat a certain amount and so can be controlled through reward and punishment. I have tried to make the experience pleasant for her, but realistically we operate on bribery and threats. It is working though, so I'll leave it alone for now.

My 2 year old is the real worry. He seems to be slipping through the net and now barely goes near any form of fruit or vegetables. He doesn't seem to grasp the idea of reward and punishment and is fairly prone to throwing a bowl of fruit onto the floor.  I am now at the point of having to be super-strict (in my opinion... maybe this is just normal!!) and not giving him other kinds of food until he has eaten what he should. I haven't withheld any meals yet (where he would just eat carbs and protein) but I am offering only fruit as snacks. I am telling him to stay at the table and finish his food, but so far with not a huge amount of success.

My main successes have been boiled apple which all 3 children will eat endlessly, and smoothie drinks which come in and out of vogue with my eldest 2.

Let me know if you have found a way to get fruit and veg into your little ones!

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