If our children are not eating what is put in front of them, is it their fault, or ours?
Read the entire article in www.huffingtonpost.com
The tips listed in this Huffington Post article include some great advice on inspiring our little ones to eat what we give them, even if they, at first, refuse.
WARNING! These tips are only valid if what we choose to feed our children is generally considered a healthy diet, low in sugars, processed grains and “bad” fats.
12 Ways Real Parents Won Over Their Picky Eaters
1. Let young children play with their food. They often need to experience it, before putting it in their mouths.
2. Use spices and dipping sauces. Dress up foods they despise with something tasty!
3. Make grocery shopping a family affair. Give them some ownership of what they are fed.
4. Offer variety. Remember? It’s the spice of life!
5. Learning to eat well is a marathon, not a sprint. It may take some time to establish new behaviors.
6. Vary the way you prepare food. Open a cookbook. We know you can do it!
7. Cook once. Never, ever offer substitutes (we think this should be Number 1, see below)
8. Offer new foods … until they’re old foods. Serve – repeat – serve again, foods that are healthy and they actually like.
9. Have fun with food and let kids help in the kitchen. Don’t be so serious!
10. Garden with your kids. Now that’s an idea! From the farm to the table, with your kids as witness.
11. Take the pressure off … yourself. Relax.
12. And take the pressure off … your kids. Also relax.
Our feeling is, these real-life solutions work well together – because the more kids interact with, understand and help prepare the foods they eat, the more buy-in you’ll get when you bring it to the table.
Also, in our view, the biggest cause of kids not eating right, these days, is fear – our own fear, as parents, that they will walk away from the table hungry. At the slightest refusal to eat, we rush back into the kitchen, grabbing a substitute we think may be more palatable, usually less healthy. Most experts agree, this is a mistake. Indeed, actually letting children leave the table hungry may just provide them the extra incentive to give what Mommy or Daddy puts in front of them a try, come next mealtime. We wholeheartedly agree. 
Read the full article at huffingtonpost.com
Edited by Clifford S. Yurman
