Most kids just adore their chocolate, pizza, hot dogs, and so on, but getting them to eat their fruit and vegetables and to try other healthy and delicious foods can be a real struggle. But that doesn’t mean we should give up! It’s really important that kids eat a healthy and balanced diet, and without the help of their parents, this isn’t likely to happen.

Generally speaking, children struggle most with fruit and vegetables, but there are other foods that seem to come up. Although the below suggestions focus primarily on getting the kids to eat their greens, the same rules can be applied to other foods too.

So, how do I get my child to eat healthy foods, such as vegetables?

Continued exposure is important. Research suggests that it can take up to 15–20 attempts before a child really gets used to a new food. So, if, to begin with, they spit out that piece of broccoli and scrunch up their face in horror, don’t lose hope. Instead, continue to introduce small portions. Consider introducing the food in a variety of ways, such as roasted carrots or carrot mash, to help your little one learn about the different ways to enjoy the food.

Serve new foods with a food you know your child loves. Several studies show that children develop better associations with new foods if they’re served along with something they enjoy. For example, your little one is much more likely to gobble up sprout if it’s been dipped in some ketchup or cream cheese.

Research shows that smaller entrées lead to more vegetable consumption. A different series of tests also showed that kids will eat more vegetables if portion sizes are adjusted. With less mac and cheese on the plate or fewer pieces of pasta, children seem to take in more of the fruit or vegetables provided. If your child has made a habit of leaving half of their carrots in their bowl, try a slightly smaller one and see if this makes a difference. It is, however, important to remember that although vegetables are an important part of the diet, they do not provide adequate energy, and therefore the portions of these should not be reduced too drastically.

Serve veg first. An alternative is to serve the fruit or vegetables separately before the main course comes along. That way, your child eats up their greens, curbing their initial hunger, and then they get onto their favourite part. You can even pretend the main is still cooking if need be!

Introduce a healthy backup meal the kids will eat but don’t necessarily love. Let’s imagine you’ve just made a delicious new meal, one you yourself are rather looking forward to, but as soon as the first forkful enters your child’s mouth, their face drops. “I don’t like it!”, they say. And so, to make sure they don’t go to bed on an empty stomach, you give them a slice of cheese and toast, which they munch on, smiling from ear to ear. Yes, we don’t want our kids to go hungry, but if we make up a new meal every time, they’ll learn that this is exactly how to get what they want. So, instead, find something nice and easy—something you know they’ll eat but don’t love. Or, as mentioned above, try offering the new food alongside this backup food.

Avoid “you can have more of this if you eat all of this”. When the kids are just refusing to eat their cucumber slices, it’s tempting to pull out the old, “If you eat all of this cucumber, I’ll let you have some ice cream for dessert.” Although it often works, this tactic inadvertently makes the cucumber seem less appealing. This is because you are implicitly enforcing their belief that it takes extra effort to stomach these foods.

Remember that food becomes more enticing if it’s forbidden. So, now you’ll have a pretty good idea of how to get them to eat their greens. But what about the foods you don’t want them to have (sweets, fizzy drinks, chocolate)? Some parents choose to ban them completely, and while this certainly works for some, the issue with this is that we so often want what we can’t have. If you allow these sugary goodies on occasion and then make sure to brush your child’s teeth afterwards, your child is more likely to develop a healthy relationship with sweets. Avoid offering these as a reward and instead offer a small piece of chocolate alongside their main meal.

Eat as a family. Where ever possible, eating as a family can really help your toddler learn from you and start to role model positive behaviour from you. This is a great way of encouraging them to eat foods they may otherwise be reluctant to try.

How do I get my child to eat certain foods?

From Unii’s Toddler Nutrition Journey, we look at how to get your child to eat the foods you choose.