MWM 13
Willow & Stephanie: You two create delicious, natural products that kids love, via your company Tasty Brand. Any tips for parents who have kids who aren’t so excited about eating their veggies (or fruit…or whole grains…)? Liane & Shannan: We definitely recognize that some kids simply “refuse” to eat certain things, and that everyone – including little children – has a palate of their own. That said, every child should enjoy a wide array of fruit, veggies, and whole grains, and it’s up to parents to make sure that happens. Here are our best tips for making healthy foods a part of their kids’ diets:
Walk the walk (don’t just talk the talk!) If you want your children to eat a healthy and varied diet, you have to model the same eating habits yourself!
1. Walk the walk (don’t just talk the talk!) If you want your children to eat a healthy and varied diet, you have to model the same eating habits yourself! When children see that the rest of their family enjoys eating a certain way, it becomes a part of their home “culture,” so to speak, and these foods can become a part of their lives forever. 2. Don’t make veggies the “punishment” and junk food the “reward.” It sets up a dangerous dynamic to tell a child that if he eats his broccoli, he’ll get a cookie. That kind of thinking casts veggies as something “bad” that has to be tolerated in order to get something “good.” 3. Teach your kids what different food groups do for their bodies and minds – the positive benefits of healthy choices like running faster, jumping higher, and having energy to play are pretty convincing.
W&S: What is one challenge to eating healthfully that you face most often? How do you overcome it? L&S: One of the biggest obstacles we encounter comes in the form of messages that reach kids through TV or other media. Needless to say, most children are easily influenced by fun, friendly-sounding, cartoonish commercials and other advertising materials that are pushing lessthan-healthy foods. No doubt this is a smart way for companies to enlist kids in getting parents to purchase their products. A passionate cry of “I want that day-glo pink breakfast cereal, Mommy! Pleeeeease!!!” can be tough to ignore, but if you explain to children that a lot of companies use commercials featuring cute and cuddly characters etc. to get kids to beg for products that are not always good for them, it often works! If children think that someone may be trying to manipulate them, they will be less susceptible.