Raising Healthy Eaters

May 2007

Spring markets are overflowing with vegetables yet your kids won’t go near anything that seems good for them.  Nurse Rona Renner, host of the radio show Childhood Matters and the parenting expert for the Bay Area Discovery Museum, suggests ways to deal with picky eaters.

Q. The only green thing I’ve ever seen my kid eat was a crayon!  Any advice on getting him to try vegetables?

A.  A pediatrician friend of mine says that getting kids to eat veggies is the first question every parent asks him.  So you – and your picky eater – are definitely not alone!

Picky eaters are often sensitive in temperament, or wary of new experiences.  It might take many tries for them to get used to a new food. They might reject a delicious dinner again and again, just to give it a try on the 10^th attempt.  So don’t give up!

Other kids may want peanut butter and jelly every single day, and that’s okay too.  Just make sure to buy good quality peanut butter and whole wheat bread.  Sneak in some banana, or add cut apples or carrot sticks on the side,.

One way to help picky eaters stretch their taste buds is to get them involved with shopping and cooking. Take them along to one of our wonderful farmer’s markets and encourage them to pick out that day’s produce or choose the fruits for a fruit salad. When you get home, let them try their hand at drying lettuce in a salad spinner or using the mixer to make zucchini bread.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a garden, plant seeds with your kids and let them discover the joy of picking fresh veggies right from the ground.  And don’t give in to requests for junk food or sodas.

Feeding children is a charged subject for many parents, since food is often equated with love. But whether you believe in “clean plate club” or have a more flexible style, just keep offering your kids healthy choices, and eat along with them. They might even surprise you and ask for something green – and non-waxy – one day!

Rona Renner, RN, hosts the parenting radio show Childhood Matters, every Sunday from 9-10 AM on 98.1 KISS-FM.  Do you have a question about parenting? Sleep?  Setting limits?  Send it to asknurserona@badm.org.