How to feed your kids organic food
In an ideal world, every parent would like to see their children delve into their dinner and eat the lovely array of mixed vegetable before them with no complaints. It can be very frustrating for us parents when our children go through fussy eating phases. I have only met a couple of mums over the years who have happily declared that their child eats everything, no worries! I am not sure to take this with envy or disbelief! Here are some helpful tips and advice that I have had over the years from experienced healthy mums. These may help you through those fussy times…….
#1 Never give up serving it up!
I almost fell out off the kitchen chair this week when our son Charlie told me that he “likes zucchini now mummy”. We have been feeding him zucchini since he was 6 months old! It has taken 4.5 years for him to finally like it. Don’t fall into the trap of not serving up a certain veggie at the dinner table because your little one doesn’t like it.
#2 Fun encouragement
“Every good dinosaur tries everything at least once
#3 Food is to be enjoyed
Even if your child is causing grief at the dinner table, remember that you are enjoying your dinner. Having a conversation around the table about how tasty the food is and what a great job dad or mum has done creating this delicious dinner will create interest to the one making a fuss. Soon they will realise that they are missing out and will want to join in.
#4 There is always breakfast!
When all else fails and dinner is out rightly refused, there is always breakfast. Food should not be forced. Our reply to Charlie in those moments is “No problem, you might have to go to bed hungry, but tomorrow we can make a big breakfast”. Making separate meals to keep your toddler happy not only creates a bad habit but extra work and stress for you preparing endless meals to keep the peace.
Remember, making the lifestyle choice of eating healthy organic foods is the best choice you could have made for you and your family!
By Sarah Butler
Related Posts: Feeding kids organic food doesn’t have to bust the budget
Educate the kids by feeding them the knowledge of probiotic foods and their health benefits. Let tomorrow’s generation be healthier and stronger enough.
Is there any online video to train up parents related to this topic? There could be a hugh market demand in China (translated).
Make something for them that look really very delicious but very healthy and organic. And introduce to the kids as early as you can what is good and what is bad.
My son used to love organic red beets (pureed) when he was an adventurous 1 1/2 year old. We’ve got some great pictures of him (blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin) with lots of deep red beets on his face – he always managed to eat only about 50% of what was on his spoon, the rest he wore on his face, hands and clothes. Funnily enough at the tender age of 3, he decided he hated beets and didn’t touch them again for 20 years. He’s 28 years old now and loves a good beet salad, but still won’t eat beets warm!
*LOL* Kris, my son is 18 months old and he LOVES red beets
I hope he continues to do so beyond the age of 3!
I have a 16 year old daughter that loves beet salad but ironically she never used to eat it when I would give it to her in her baby years.
Great post there! yes it’s important to start a child on organic food early in life. Nowadays there are so much harmful chemicals in food that are creating sickness, allergies and behavioural problems in kids..it’s really sad
I’m amazed and happy to see how many parents are warming up to organic -it’s great! I’m 42 years old and my mother raised me on organic food and holistic beliefs. At the time it really wasn’t so acceptable. Kids where a little cruel at lunch time, I had brown bologna, they had artificially pink bologna. My mother didn’t really explain this enough so my advice would be…keep them informed on why we eat organic. They’re a lot smarter than we think!
When cooking organic food to kids, it is necessary to make it look nice, just like cooking any other kind of food! The trick is to get them to eat organic food from early ages, so they can get used to the flavour!
I remember when I was a kid, how I hated vegetables (organic or non-organic, there was no distinction yet back then). But now, towards college, I fell in love with gardening and love vegetables and herbs the most.
One good tip I learned is not to force children to do something they don’t want. Because the more we do, the more they will repel it. Instead of pushing, leave them with no other choice. If they don’t want to eat veggies or any organic foods, let them be. But don’t give them something else to eat either. And of course, make sure that everybody else is eating and enjoying the food so they might consider trying it out.
I don’t know, but this worked for my kids.
What really inclines me towards organic food is they are free from all sorts of pesticides.
The tastes that are added in processed foods — MSG, sweeteners — trigger addictive responses. It’s not that organic food tastes bad, it’s that it tastes different from the processed foods, and even pets need their food to taste the same all the time. The best way to get kids to eat organic is to only eat organic, not to mix it in with a Happy Meal.
After all, kids in India eat spicy food, kids in China eat Chinese food. They eat what they are used to eating.
hey you have listed nice points but it sometimes hard to follow. My child does not eat those food which he does not like, even after serving him again and again…so i try to serve him natural & healthy food that is liked by him. According to me, he is getting full nutrition throw my my served food as i stick to serve him more & more Organic Food.
Cheers
The decision to give your children organic foods or not is a very personal one. You should do it or not do it based upon your ability to do so and your thoughts about it. Don’t feel pressured into doing so because your doctor or family tells you that you should do so. If it is something you feel strongly about then don’t let other people talk you out of it. Do what you feel is best for your children so you can feel good about your role as a parent.