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How do I get my fussy child to eat fruit and vegetables?
Fussy eating is common in early childhood and frequently worries parents. Children are often erratic eaters. They love food one day and dislike it the next. It can take a lot of trying and inventing to encourage them to eat what they say they don’ t like. In fact studies have shown that it takes at least 13 times of offering the food before you can say they don’ t really like it.
Fruit and vegetables should form an important part of a child’ s diet (there are no substitutes). Although infants often get a lot of fruit and vegetable baby foods, once they start eating table food, what you eat is going to be a big influence on what your kids like to eat. If you rarely serve vegetables with meals or eat fruit, don' t be surprised if your kids develop the same tastes.
It can help to start early, offering your child lots of different types of foods and letting them see you eat and enjoy a variety of foods, especially fruits and vegetables.
Creative ways to get your kids to eat more fruit and vegetables can include camouflaging them in with other foods, like chopping up and mixing vegetables in with pasta sauces, lasagna, casseroles, soup, chili, omelets, etc. or adding vegie toppings to pizza. You can even find recipes for things like corn muffins, carrot beef meatballs or zucchini cookies, that your kids might enjoy.
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