How to Make Veg Fun!
Claire Wright
Veg Power Editor and recipe creator Claire Wright shares our top tips to making veg fun and playful instead of a chore for kids using Eat Them To Defeat Them.
Veg and fun are perhaps not two words that we as parents naturally put together. Our kids certainly don’t seem to associate the two. But bringing play into engagement with veg and adding fun can turn something that can often feel like a battle into an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
The main reason why multi-award-winning campaign Eat Them To Defeat Them is so successful in getting kids to eat more veg is that it is fun! Kids love the story, the silly catchphrases, being on the same side as their parents as heroes, and the play involved in the game-like campaign. Bringing that play into mealtimes more can be the difference between a veg being tried or refused.
On top of the fun theme, Eat Them To Defeat Them brings in an ad campaign and celebrity support to build on excitement – meaning they want to eat veg so they can be involved! Schools taking part in the schools’ programme start the play by bringing in the story and some fun goals, and finding tasty and enjoyable ways to try particular veggies, rewarding with stickers.
Repeating this fun and rewarding at home with our sticker and reward chart packs means that trying and eating these veg becomes the norm, developing long-term healthy habits!
This year, we’ve introduced a new way to make eating to defeat them fun with The Big Chomp! We are encouraging schools, families, and all the kids involved in the campaign to have fun making their veg-chomping entertaining and over-the-top, and sharing their “big chomps” with us and their families and friends. This is all about making the act of eating veg fun, and that playful attitude turns veg-eating into a positive experience for all.
What if my children’s school isn’t taking part?
Don’t worry, there’s still loads you can do at home to capitalise on the campaign!
1
Watch the ad
A great place to start if you haven’t already seen it on TV – watch the multi-award-winning campaign that started it all with your kids to encourage them to Eat Them To Defeat Them!
2
Download a reward chart
We have free ones you can download and colour in (or just buy a cheap pack of stickers for) so they can still get rewarded for eating to defeat the veg.
Go on a tea-time adventure
Whether you are using our basic recipes, or just adding a little veg to the meals you already make, we have some stories, silly names and catchphrases, and tips for family favourite meals to make tea-time a playful adventure.
Serve with a battle cry!
Add one of our Eat Them To Defeat Them featured veggies to a meal and serve with an “Eat Them To Defeat Them” battle cry to get the kids having fun around a meal.
Be crafty
Download one of our free Eat Them To Defeat Them arts & crafts resources to keep the theme going in your house and encourage the fun around eating those veg!
And of course, just because the campaign runs in February and March doesn’t mean you are limited to this time of year for the fun that Eat Them To Defeat Them has to offer – these resources are available year-round for you to bring more fun to the table!
DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
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Winning with Reward Charts
Dan Parker
Chief Executive: Dan Parker has worked in marketing and advertising for 25 years for many of the world’s largest food brands. As Chief Executive of Veg Power he now uses that experience to encourage kids to eat more vegetables.
Rewards charts can be a very effective way to encourage kids to try and keep trying a new vegetable until it just becomes habit. Read on to learn the most effective way to use a reward chart and a few pitfalls to avoid.
What message does an offer of dessert as a reward for eating vegetables give? It says that vegetables are “disgusting”, a chore, and that sweet treats are a prize to cherish. You may get your child to eat a little more broccoli today but you’re teaching unhealthy food habits they might keep for life.
REWARD CHART TIPS
Get your own house in order
Parents, carers and members of a child’s home set an example, good or bad, that a child will see as normal. So, the first step to healthy veggie-loving kids is healthy veggie-loving adults. Everyone tucking in and enjoying a wide variety of vegetables will lead the way.
FIND A REWARD CHART
First thing you’ll need is a reward chart. We have a couple you can download and print. One from our popular Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign which is excellent for kids who eat little veg and another featuring Shaun the Sheep eating the rainbow which is useful for increasing variety of veg. Of course, you or your child can make your own, they can just be a very simple grid or path for stickers.
Getting started
Find a time when the kids are not too tired or distracted, ask them if they want to play with the chart and what rewards they might like – and if you don’t have a dinosaur handy, then maybe ask them again.
Pin up the chart
Pin the chart up in a prominent place. Whether they are adding stickers or colouring in, make sure you watch and congratulate your kids as they complete each step.
Small steps
You must take the pressure off, however frustrated you might be, if the child feels pressured, they will likely push back or clam up. You know your child – if they are very reluctant to eat veg then give them their first step on the chart for just having the veg on their plate, better still just a sniff, maybe lick. Progress to a mouthful and then on to a portion.
No tricks
Don’t rely on hidden veg. Again, you might score a quick win today but you’re not teaching your child good food habits for life.
Rewards work, but choose them carefully
A “well done”, a big hug and a smile from parents or carers is the most important reward you can give – and the most important advice we can give to you. You can also encourage kids to collect towards a prize they would really enjoy such as a new toy, or a trip to the park, the beach, a day out or just time with you – just make sure that you never use food as a reward. You know your kids and what will motivate them.
Acknowledge success
Our Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign makes veg fun – so join in the fun! Say things like “you really defeated that broccoli” or “you’re going down peas”. Also make a big deal of success, try to avoid pushing your children too hard or criticising any failure – you can always try again tomorrow.
DO you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
SIMPLY VEG
Need to get your kids eating more veg?
Our only goal is to help parents and carers serve up affordable, simple food their families will love. We know that takes more than a few recipes, so we've got all the hacks and advice you'll need. Join now. It's 100% free and 100% simple.
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