There are basic principles, The Three Rs, that lay the groundwork for getting kids to eat veg you serve – rewarding, re-offering and role modelling. Find out how these simple ideas can change everything.
Getting food from plates to bellies.
Getting food onto plates is hard enough already, but getting that food from plates to bellies can be a big challenge!
Fortunately, we have expert Dr Clare Holley, a child psychologist specialising in getting kids to eat veg, to share her secrets to success.
They centre around three principles, the Three Rs, of role modelling, rewarding and re-offering. These basic steps are the ones that have been proving to get the veg moving from the plate to the mouth.
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Role modelling
Kids watch more than they listen. One of the most powerful tools for getting your kids to try something new or previously refused veg is by watching what you are doing.
Research shows that children learn their habits from watching parents and that children are twice as likely to like vegetables if their parents like vegetables. Even if you don’t, you still need to show that you do as best as you can, and who knows, maybe you soon will, too!
How to do it:
Whenever you can, take the opportunity to share food with your child – sit and eat at the same time and eat the same foods together. This doesn’t have to be your main meal – you can always just try a small amount of what they are eating. When they see you trying (and enjoying!) those foods, they are far more likely to want to give it a go themselves, and are more likely to enjoy it, too.
Rewarding
Rewards work! The key is to keep it simple and not food-based. Try giving a sticker, or playing a game together, or try one of our free digital reward charts if your child wants to give one a go. You know your child best, so pick a reward you know they will love, and make sure to give them lots and lots of praise!
Praising with smiles and encouraging words is a reward in and of itself, so always offer this, even if all they’ve done is lick or sniff a new veg. Don’t go overboard – kids can sense when we are being fake – but find something positive in their interaction with a veg and let them know you have noticed, even if they didn’t actually eat or try it through putting it in their mouths.
The flip side to this is to avoid telling off or punishing kids when it comes to food – focus on the positive and the experience will be happier for everybody.
How to do it:
The key here is not to reward with food. Avoid reinforcing the message that “veg is gross and sweets are great” by giving dessert as a reward for eating their broccoli. Instead, try offering something like:
Stickers
Ticks on a chart
Time spent with you
An activity they enjoy
First choice on a family activity or TV show
A round of a sport or game they enjoy
Or ask your child for ideas and come up with some non-food suggestions you are both happy with.
Re-Offering
Children between the ages of 2 and 6 go through a particularly fussy phase around vegetables called “neophobia”. You may notice that they start to refuse new foods, or even some foods they were previously happy to eat, particularly vegetables! Studies have shown that kids may need to try a vegetable as much as 10, or even 20 times, before deciding whether or not they like it. So whatever your child’s reaction to a particular veg today, don’t make a big deal of it. Just move on, and think about when is the next time you could offer your child that veg.
Re-offering also means the pressure isn’t on this one moment. When you know you can try again and again, and taste will change over time, it’s easier to remain positive and not pile any pressure onto yourself or your child for this one attempt. They didn’t like it this time? No problem, there’s always next time. And remember to highlight any positive parts of the process (perhaps they licked it or sniffed it or used descriptive language rather than “it’s gross”), and make sure to try to thread in rewarding, while also trying some of the veg yourself to link in role modelling.
How to do it:
If you are concerned about budget or food waste, offering small amounts and then adding it to your own dinner if it ends up uneaten might be enough (let them see you enjoy it to add some great role modelling, too!). But if you don’t want to buy a whole large veg or bag of veg when trying something new, frozen veg can be a real asset here! You’ll be able to grab just a small amount, and then the rest is ready for you to use a small amount next time, too, without having to buy anything again.
Be careful about the language used. Yet is a powerful word. If your child says “I don’t like it”, then try re-framing their attitude with the word yet or responses like: “you didn’t like them this time” or “you didn’t like carrots today, maybe next time we’ll try broccoli” or “you don’t like them cooked this way, perhaps next time we’ll try them raw/roasted/stir-fried”.
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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