One of the simplest, but most important, things you can do to get your kids eating more veg is to by making it part of your everyday conversation. Talking about veg helps you better understand your child’s preferences and turn those negative “no” moments into positives. It’s super easy with our tips from Dr Clare Holley.
Take the stress out of veg by making it part of your everyday discussion with these tips from Dr Clare Holley.
Talking about veg might not feel easy and natural when you first start, but the more you bring it into everyday conversation, the easier it gets, and the more hints you get about your child’s preferences and how best to introduce more veg into their diet! Dr Clare Holley, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology specialising in children’s eating behaviour, shares how to get started…
Why talk about veg?
Talking about veg with your kids help them to become something familiar, which removes stress and strain around them. It normalises veg as part of an everyday meal.
Talking about veg (and food in general) also gives you insight into what it is about particular foods (especially veg) your child does and doesn’t like, giving you ideas for what might make some veg more appealing to them. Listen to the describing words they use about foods, especially vegetables. Is it about the texture, the taste, the colour, the temperature, the feel…? Try to prepare veg in a way that suits the types of foods they enjoy (for example, if they enjoy crunchier foods, see if you can serve them raw or lightly steamed).
What to talk about?
You might actually want to steer clear of directly asking whether or not a child likes a vegetable, or focusing too much on the taste. Instead, try to start small by using other senses – ask them what it looks like or reminds them of (encourage silliness and imaginative descriptions to make it more fun for them), what the veg smells like, is it the same colour as something else they enjoy eating (or even their favourite cartoon character!)…?
If you feel they are ready, you could also ask about taste after all this, but if they aren’t, don’t push it – just exploring a veg in other ways is helping make it more familiar and normal to them, while also giving you valuable insight.
How to talk about veg?
Try and keep this really light-hearted, keep this a positive experience and don’t let them dwell too much on what they don’t like. Gently encourage them towards what they do (even if it’s only the colour or the shape!). To do this, try to:
For more ideas, activities, video guides and top tips on how to use sensory activities to help kids get used to veg, head to our Sensory page.
When to talk about veg?
Whenever you can! You may choose to set aside some time to explore veg occasionally in a more involved way, perhaps while something is cooking in the oven or when the kids get home from school and need something to do. But it is possible to weave this into day-to-day life in smaller ways, too.
What if they don't like it?
It’s ok for children not to like things – we all have certain foods we like or dislike more than others! Just focus on the positives, praise and reward them for getting involved, even if they didn’t try the veg or like it, and make sure you take the pressure away by letting them know you are just talking about and engaging with the veg – they don’t have to try it and they don’t have to like it!
If they don’t like a veg, ask them why (and make sure it’s more than just because “it’s yucky”). Listen to the words they use. Are they describing the look, the feel, the texture, the temperature, the crunchiness or softness, the sound it makes, the bitterness or sweetness…?
Try to use these insights to find a veg they might prefer that is more in line with their preferences. You can use our Veg Selector to match some of their words to veggies if that’s helpful!
Dr Clare Holley PhD, FHEA
Clare is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Loughborough University. Her research expertise is around children’s eating behaviour, with a focus on how we can promote healthy eating behaviours and reduce unhealthy eating behaviours. She has a particular passion for all things Veg, and has been researching effective ways of increasing children’s vegetable consumption for 10 years.
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