How to Get Kids Eating Healthy (Secrets All Parents Should Know!)

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They'd rather eat cookies than cauliflower. Learn how to have your kids pleading for more peas.

At some point, most parents must deal with the challenge of wrestling good food into—and junk food out of—the hands of their children. We've got some easy strategies to get your child eating better.

Just the Facts

• It's a parent's job to buy, offer, and encourage nutritious foods.
  
  
• The child's job is to choose from the nutritious foods offered.
  
  
• You don't like all foods; neither will your children.
  
  
• On the other hand, tastes change, so don't give up.
  
  
• Older kids don't grow as quickly as infants; therefore, they don't eat as much per body weight.
  
  
• Children have more sensitive taste buds than adults.
  
  
• Make sure you eat well. Your children are watching.

Common Sense

• Keep good snacks at children's eye level. Make them the first thing your youngsters see when they open the fridge and cupboards. Store snacks on counter tops in bowls or clear glass jars.
  
  
• If a food is rejected, offer one alternative. If that is rejected, too, tell your child she has two good choices. Even a stubborn child won't starve herself.
  
  
• Try not to win all the time; let your picky eater get away with saying no occasionally.
  
  
• Make sure your children have enough time to eat, but also don't turn mealtime into an exercise in endurance. If they dawdle too long, excuse them from the table.
  
  
• Never beg your child to take "just one more bite." This can result in overeating in later years.