How to get kids to eat their vegetables

Many parents wonder how to get their kids to eat their vegetables. When parents realize that it is not the their job to actually get the bite of veggies into their kid's mouth, it helps move away from the food fights and enjoy the time you are spending together during the meal.

Satter's Division of Responsibility provides the guidance on what is a parent's responsibility and what is a child's responsibility.

Parents decide

• What food is served
• Where it is served
• When it is served.

Kids decide

• Which foods to eat from what is served
• How much.

By dividing these responsibilities, it helps reassure parents that they've done their job and takes the pressure off parents to feel like it is their job to get the bite into their little ones mouth. By giving that responsibility to kids, it gives kids room to explore and learn these foods. It provides kids with the ability to listen to their body. By handing these responsibilities to kids, it provides for more peaceful mealtimes.

How parents can help...

• Providing a variety of fruits and veggies
• Repeat exposure to a variety of foods
• Parents eating the foods themselves