What To Do If A Child Does Not Eat Vegetables?

The world is full of children who would by no means agree to eat vegetables. Their reaction to these dishes is almost universal: they peck their noses, turn their eyes away, frown, or dig something tastier from a plate into their mouth. What to do if the child does not eat vegetables?

Some parents see this kind of behavior as a sign that the child is being pampered, but the children are just like that. Organic factors and even causes of evolutionary origin are involved. Contrary to belief, controlling vegetables is related to their color rather than their taste.

Brain protection mechanisms

The brain is the result of thousands of years of modification and still has mechanisms that protect living things from toxic and polluted things. This explains why some colorful foods, such as vegetables, trigger an alarm in the brain, instinctively causing aversion to them.

Foods in shades of green and orange cause a control reaction in young children. For this reason, many children aged 3-5 years get to know potatoes faster than broccoli or Brussels sprouts.

Although this behavior is part of a child’s natural growth process, it is the responsibility of parents to gradually incorporate these foods into the child’s diet, as they are rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins.

High sensitivity

It has been shown that sensitivity to different flavors is greatly influenced by a genetic component. The sense of taste and smell are well developed during the first years of life, which is why it is difficult for many children to tolerate foods other than breast milk or milk substitutes.

Adding to this the low-calorie and, in many cases, bitter taste of vegetables, it leads to so-called food-related neophobia (instinctive rejection of new foods).

The depletion of receptors or their inability to convert taste or odor stimuli into nerve signals causes this sensitivity to abate over time.

Try delicious options

Children who do not eat vegetables tend to underestimate dark green leafy vegetables such as leaf chard, eggplant, spinach, cucumber and radish. They tolerate sweet potatoes, ripe tomatoes and other sweeter vegetables a little better.

The positive thing about all this is that just as the brain is ready to reject anything potentially threatening, it is also able to change through experience or repeated exposure to certain ways.

According to experts, children get over their vegetables in “disgust” when parents urge them to taste 12-14 times excellent meals that repeat the same taste. Only then does the brain stop keeping these foods more toxic.

What to do if the child does not eat vegetables?

The worst mistake parents make is to incite food cravings. When a child does not eat vegetables, he does not get the required amount of potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium and vitamin K.

In addition, he gets low levels of antioxidants and vitamin A. This vitamin makes the skin, tissues and mucous membranes healthy. The child also gets too little fiber, which is essential in preventing intestinal problems and constipation.

Every child has their own eating habits, and even if the child does not starve, this avoidance of vegetables needs to be remedied.

Follow these tips

• Acting as an example, eating with family.
• Don’t offer new foods so often. The ideal interval is every other day.
• Keep in mind that versatility and different colors don’t help. It is most convenient to offer one vegetable at a time, at least in the beginning.
• Do not force your child to eat large portions. Small tastings are the best option.
• Change the way vegetables are served. If a child doesn’t like a vegetable as such, you can add it as an ingredient in one of your child’s favorite recipes. Juices and pastries, however, are not the best options for this purpose.

• Cut the vegetables into smaller pieces. The feeling that the child is able to eat food by hand draws his attention.
• Avoid pressure, punishment and threats.
• Always add vegetables, after the age of three, and get your child used to trying them.
• Take advantage of your appetite. If a child is very hungry, he is also more likely to eat vegetables.
• Stay patient and calm, always strengthening the child positively instead of arguing.
• Reward verbally. Phrases like “well done” and “yes you grow fast” can motivate.
• Don’t introduce your child to new foods too early or suddenly.

These tips usually get good results. They may not apply to all vegetables, but it is unlikely that a child will like them all; three or four different vegetables may already be sufficient in the beginning.

It must also be remembered that each process takes time, and instead of rewarding or criticizing, the child should be taught to eat healthily on their own initiative and for their own well-being.