Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I Bribe My Son to Eat Veggies

I never said I was the perfect parent. In fact, I'm not anywhere near it.  My son is almost 2 and a half years old, and his favorite foods are Mac and Cheese, cheeseburgers, and McDonald's French Fries. lol...

Lately, I've been trying to include more veggies and fruits into his diet, and trying to cook more at home. It's definitely not easy.  I was told by several people to learn how to hide more veggies into his food (by blending, etc.), but I've been trying not to do that because I want him to appreciate vegetables; actually learn to like them.  It's been a slow process.  When I first started serving veggies to BJ, he pretty much refused.  Then, I got him to eat a couple of raw carrots (*gasp*) by serving some chive & onion dip with it.  He mostly ate dip but hey... a couple of carrots is better than nothing. haha.

Tonight, we ate sausage and squash with rice, but BJ was only eating the rice!



I didn't want to force squash down his throat, because I think that would be considered child abuse, lol, so I bribed him instead!  For every bite of  squash, he got to eat a small potato chip.  lol... Like I said, I'm not the perfect parent... but the fact that he's eating veggies at all is a small step towards healthy eating!  He even ate a banana for dessert!  If you have any suggestions on healthy eating, please let me know... but don't criticize me. I'm trying!!! :-)

5 comments:

  1. He ate onion and chive dip...ha ha mine wouldn't touch that dip with a 10 foot pole! And he is 8! It is a struggle, but worth it.

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  2. I can totally relate to this! My daughter has always been VERY skinny(10th percentile for weight) and my doctors have encouraged us to let her eat calorie dense foods to help beef her up. Now that she's a little older(15 months) we are trying to get her on a more balanced diet. Needless to say getting her to eat veggies has not been easy! Thanks for the bribing tip, I'll have to try that! Stopping by from the blog hop! Am now a new follower:) Would love if you could follow me back!
    http://crazy-mama-drama.blogspot.com/
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  3. A lot of moms are using the Bento Boxes with their kids where they will have a "box" (think Glad plastic boxes) and putting snacks like apple slices, baby carrots, grapes, celery (whatever their kids will eat) and then 1 new veggie/fruit each week. Cut them up and store them on your kids own shelf in the fridge (or the box) and tell him that when he's hungry and wants a snack he can help himself to anything in that box. Just refill it every morning.

    You can also give him zucchini bread, banana bread - kids love them and they are great for a snack & or breakfast. Just watch that they aren't loaded with sugar and they are very nutritious. =D

    Here is my recipe for Grandma Deboer's Banana Bread - it's so yummy and well over 50 years old. http://givingnsharing.blogspot.com/2010/10/grandma-deboers-banana-bread.html

    I found you through the Planet Weidknecht Hop tonight. Would love a follow back on http://familyliteracy2.blogspot.com - I've also followed you on FB, Twitter and G+ & would love a follow back if interested. On the hop I'm #'s 60-64. =D Thanks! Tina 'the book lady'

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  4. We are in the exact same dilemma. Our son only eats rice and sausage. We have been hiding vegies as much as we can, but his pediTrician said to do exactly what you're doing. Get them to eat it out right so he can learn to like it. Reward systemwas hwer suggestion too...more along the lines of stickers each day to work towards a weeklh treat, but so far we've been doing immediate small rewards. Its been working for us somewhat too.

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  5. We are in the exact same dilemma. Our son only eats rice and sausage. We have been hiding vegies as much as we can, but his pediTrician said to do exactly what you're doing. Get them to eat it out right so he can learn to like it. Reward systemwas hwer suggestion too...more along the lines of stickers each day to work towards a weeklh treat, but so far we've been doing immediate small rewards. Its been working for us somewhat too.

    ReplyDelete