[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by jaxie

I should probably start by saying we aren't vegetarian though the slaughter and eating of animals does bother me, I can't give up the bacon. Having said that I have never had any problems getting my kids to eat vegetables, including broccoli which we've always called little trees which I think helped it appeal more in a magical sort of way.

At birthday parties we always had the little cakes and all the other stuff people have like sausage rolls etc but I always put out a platter of chopped raw veggies a little dip and you know what the kids always ate it, not only my own kids. I remember my mother in law being amazed at one party that there were cakes on the table and the carrot sticks were going like hot cakes.

I remember my sister in law sucking chocolate buttons to soften and putting them on her daughter's mouth when she was one. I didn't give chocolate until they asked and would give them raisons when young. Interestingly my son still doesn't have a sweet tooth and can take or leave chocolate.

I don't really believe this adage that kids won't eat green or other vegetables. I think bad eating habits are given to kids by people like my sister in law. If the veg is available but they aren't forced to eat it then I've found most kids will happily eat it. If they don't like something don't force it, try something else. I think one of the problems with children and veg is being forced to eat badly cooked veg. There is a huge difference between cabbage with the life boiled out of it and cabbage tossed in a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and a few tablespoons of water until soft. But saying they won't eat it is a myth.

With regard to the little girl crying for meat this is probably more about wanting to be like everyone else than the actual meat. She is being singled out as different at mealtimes and that can be uncomfortable for a child.

Wish my kids were like this. They are always given a few different veg as part of their main meals. Never forced to eat it (I don't pressure them to eat anything, besides telling them that if they don't eat the healthy stuff they aren't getting desert...if that counts as forcing ), but its fairly rare that they will eat it without some form of bribing, and sometimes refuse even with that.

I was a dodgy kid like this and the picky eating is still with me tbh. I used to refuse all veg besides carrots, where my brother and sister ate veg a fair bit (but still not as often as my parents would have liked) so it clearly wasn't anything my parents did wrong if 2/3 kids were healthier eaters

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Wish my kids were like this. They are always given a few different veg as part of their main meals. Never forced to eat it (I don't pressure them to eat anything, besides telling them that if they don't eat the healthy stuff they aren't getting desert...if that counts as forcing ), but its fairly rare that they will eat it without some form of bribing, and sometimes refuse even with that.

I was a dodgy kid like this and the picky eating is still with me tbh. I used to refuse all veg besides carrots, where my brother and sister ate veg a fair bit (but still not as often as my parents would have liked) so it clearly wasn't anything my parents did wrong if 2/3 kids were healthier eaters

I half agree with Jaxie and half disagree, I think in some cases it's bad parenting but in others it's just down to the child.

It reminds me of a friend of my mothers, she had two boys, the first was as good as gold as a baby slept away, did what he was told when he was a toddler etc and she used to think to herself "I don't know what's wrong with people, this is easy, it's the parents fault blah blah" and then she had her second son lol and he was a tyrant she raised him exactly the same as the first, he was just a different person

[DemolitionRed]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

I half agree with Jaxie and half disagree, I think in some cases it's bad parenting but in others it's just down to the child.

It reminds me of a friend of my mothers, she had two boys, the first was as good as gold as a baby slept away, did what he was told when he was a toddler etc and she used to think to herself "I don't know what's wrong with people, this is easy, it's the parents fault blah blah" and then she had her second son lol and he was a tyrant she raised him exactly the same as the first, he was just a different person

haha! sounds like our experience.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by DemolitionRed

haha! sounds like our experience.

My two were very good in general, it was a major struggle to get my daughter to eat veg though when she was very young, my son was always very good for eating them though. Now they're older it seems to have switched around

[jaxie]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Wish my kids were like this. They are always given a few different veg as part of their main meals. Never forced to eat it (I don't pressure them to eat anything, besides telling them that if they don't eat the healthy stuff they aren't getting desert...if that counts as forcing ), but its fairly rare that they will eat it without some form of bribing, and sometimes refuse even with that.

I was a dodgy kid like this and the picky eating is still with me tbh. I used to refuse all veg besides carrots, where my brother and sister ate veg a fair bit (but still not as often as my parents would have liked) so it clearly wasn't anything my parents did wrong if 2/3 kids were healthier eaters

There is nothing wrong with carrots. If you liked them I'd just make sure they were there. If you are a fussy eater it is possible your kids could just follow and pick up on it. No two people are exactly the same and there will always be some who don't like certain things. I just think that people make a lot out of the eating vegetables and it often becomes a pressure or a thing, kids are very intuitive. I've even had kids round for tea in the past who have eaten broccoli and had a mother point blank refuse to believe it. But they ate it happliy, probably because the other kids were eating it, all big eyed about who shrunk the trees.

Another thing I've always done is used plenty of veg in the cooking, curry with broccoli and cauliflower chopped in is really nice. If it all comes out of a pot in a nice sauce half the time they don't even notice. Also a lot of kids seem to prefer raw veggies with a mayo dip but that's ok, probably more healthy than cooked if you don't overdo the Mayo.

Have you ever tried tossing your cabbage in a little (tablespoon) olive oil and water? It Cooks in less than five minutes in a frying pan. It is really nice. Go for a light green cabbage the ones that look a bit like an iceberg lettuce. I hated brussel sprouts so I roast them with the potatoes, they are fantastic roasted.

I didn't eat greens much as a kid, partly due to being a bit neglected and partly because when my mother did cook she stewed the life out of it. But I found as an adult that I quite liked them if they were cooked nicely. And at the end of the day if they will only eat carrots and sweet corn and peas, give them that.

And runner beans, love runner beans! Throw them in the curry and the stir fry! Put them in the spaghetti sauce so they have to wind them on a fork with the spaghetti.