It is safe to say that every parent wants their children to be healthy. Every parent would love if the children were excited to eat their fruits, vegetables, and protein. Parents want their kids to eat healthy because we all understand the benefits that come with having a balanced healthy diet. However, a common complaint among parents is the struggle of getting their kids to eat good healthy food. Parents complain about their picky toddlers and their stubborn children who cross their arms at vegetables. Parents feel like they are in a loss. A lot of new parents just understand that one day they are going to have to fight their toddlers into eating vegetables and there is no way around it.

How A Mother Of Four Gets Her Toddlers To Eat Vegetables

However, a recent study has shown that parents actually can avoid having picky eaters right from the very moment that they start eating solid foods. Many people judge parents who have picky eaters. People say, "well your child wouldn't be picky if you would have given them only vegetables when they were babies instead of fruit." Although this seems like it would make sense, this is not what research has shown. On the contrary, research has shown that the parents who are more strict about food will actually lead to children who are pickier eaters.

The study followed 300 children and their parents for five years. They found the more demanding and restrictive a parent was- the pickier the child became. They say those parents are creating negative experiences around food. The researchers suggest parents don't insist kids clean their plates and avoid using food as bribes. Instead, give kids some control by giving them options, and continue to introduce new foods often without pressuring them to eat it."

"An important point to remember is that fussy or picky eating is normal in young kids," says Lee Gibson, PhD, a reader in biopsychology and director of the Clinical and Health Psychology Research Centre at University of Roehampton in London. "And in general, overreacting or trying to apply strict dietary regimes to discourage picky eating tends to be counterproductive," Gibson continued.

It is very important for parents to not use food as a form of punishment or a reward. Children need to learn how to have a positive relationship with food. “It is important for kids to develop a healthy relationship with food at a young age,” says Altmann, a Calabasas, California-based private practitioner, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, author of What to Feed Your Baby, and mother of three. “When this doesn’t happen, [kids] can have weight problems and disordered eating later on in life.”

It is so important for parents to encourage children to eat a variety of different foods and not force them to eat something. You never want to turn food into a fight and lead them to relating food with a bad experience.

Food Should Never Be Used As A Punishment Or A Reward