Hello, it is relatively common for children to not like to eat vegetables, or to prefer a certain kind of food. Psychological research shows that the biggest characteristic of children of this age is usually: based on personal needs and preferences to decide to do or not do something.

If parents force their children to surrender at this time, it is meaningless, and it may be counterproductive and bring some negative effects to the children.

When encountering this kind of situation, most parents will be very anxious and anxious, worrying that their children's nutrition is incomplete and will affect their physical development. However, the children refuse to eat soft and hard foods, leaving parents somewhat helpless. Usually, I would recommend that parents use some psychological skills and knowledge to stand in their children's perspective and feel their children's feelings in an "empathetic" way. Think about it from a child’s perspective, why don’t you like to eat vegetables?

Usually there may be several situations:

1. The nutrients that vegetables can provide to the child’s body are enough, and there is no need to supplement.

Many parents think that their children are young and do not understand anything, but this is not the case. Research shows that when each child is growing up, especially before the age of 7, he/she understands the world entirely through perceptual feelings. , that is, completely based on feeling. They eat when they are hungry, drink when they are thirsty, sleep when they are sleepy, and cry when they are in pain... They are completely with their body and soul, and they do not think about problems rationally like adults. Eat whatever is nutritious, but you still do it even though you don’t like it. Whether this is the case, parents can use some medical tests to find out whether the child is really lacking in nutrients from vegetables or certain foods;

2. The child does not like the taste of the dish, or the first I had a bad experience when I ate it for the first time, such as it was burnt, salty... I didn't want to eat it again when I saw it.

It may be that the child hates the taste of that dish, or the young and weak teeth feel uncomfortable chewing vegetables, or the stomach and intestines have to digest vegetables full of fiber which is an uncomfortable feeling. Or when you see it, you think of something or something you don’t like.

......

The reasons may be different for each child. You can find out by asking the child himself/herself, holding the child in your arms and telling him/her calmly: Look. When you don't eat vegetables, your mother/father is very worried about you, why don't you like to eat them... A two-and-a-half-year-old child can already communicate with parents in this way. Parents can guess what the reason is and confirm with their children whether this is the case.

But one thing is the same - children can reflect human instinct: "pursue happiness and avoid pain." It must be painful for your child to eat vegetables, so he/she refuses them vehemently. If parents can find ways to create "the joy of eating vegetables", this problem can be easily solved. For example, you can make vegetables in different ways, mix them with some red and yellow vegetables to create bright colors or patterns that your children like, or chop vegetables into meatballs, or use games and competitions with your children. Compare eating... there is always a way.

Children who don’t like to eat vegetables do not necessarily mean they are deliberately against their parents. There may be the following reasons:

1 Problems with the vegetables themselves, such as the vegetables are too old and the children cannot bite them; There is a strange smell, poor taste, etc.;

2 Problems with parenting methods, such as limited varieties of vegetables selected; parents who do not like to eat vegetables; parents inadvertently expressed inappropriate opinions on certain vegetables, Affects children's preferences, etc.

In fact, vegetables themselves are very delicious food. As long as parents can take appropriate measures according to their children's problems, it is not difficult to make children like vegetables.

Solve the problem of vegetables themselves

◆ Substitute similar products. There are many varieties of vegetables, including fresh beans, such as soybean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, cowpeas, lentils, edamame, peas, etc.; rhizomes, such as potatoes, carrots, white radish, lotus root, yam, taro, bamboo shoots, etc.; stems, leaves, flowers Categories, such as cabbage, rape, spinach, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, Chinese cabbage, celery, asparagus, watercress, shepherd's purse, etc.; melons and eggplants, such as cucumber, winter melon, loofah, pumpkin, bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, etc. . If your child just doesn't eat certain vegetables, you can replace them with similar vegetables, such as cucumber and winter melon instead of loofah, and shepherd's purse and spinach instead of cabbage.

◆ Stems first, then leaves. Some children's rejection of vegetables stems from the experience of having vegetables stuck in their throats when they were younger. Therefore, you can start with the stems and then the leaves, choose varieties with relatively less fiber, and pay attention to cutting them into small pieces and mincing them as much as possible.

◆ Cook properly. The purpose of reasonable cooking is to maintain the unique bright color, tender and crisp characteristics of vegetables and arouse children's appetite. The basic methods are:

Cuan method

Wash vegetables such as cabbage, celery, lotus root, spinach, etc., put them into boiling water and cook for a few minutes, then remove them. Later, it is made into salty, sweet and sour flavors according to the taste. This method maintains the tender and crisp characteristics of the vegetables. In addition, boiled green vegetables or shepherd's purse can also be used as fillings for wontons or dumplings, which are generally acceptable to children.

Meat and vegetable method

Some children don’t like the smell of carrots. They can cook carrots with meat, which not only tastes good, but also facilitates the absorption of carotene.

It is also a good way to make meat and vegetable meatballs: mix the minced meat with mashed potatoes and carrots to make meatballs. It can also be made into braised flavor, which is very popular with children. In addition, boiling boiled vegetables with braised pork, and boiling radish with mutton are both delicious dishes.

Addressing parenting style issues

● Parents lead by example. Parents' picky eating habits often affect their children. Therefore, parents should overcome their picky eating habits as early as possible, take the lead in eating a variety of foods, and help their children develop good eating habits.

● Emphasize the benefits of vegetables. Parents should explain more about the benefits of eating vegetables and should not casually criticize certain vegetables as unpalatable. Because children do not yet have the ability to make independent judgments, their parents' words often become the basis for them to choose a certain dish.

● Provide a variety of choices. Parents should consciously expand the range of family recipes, constantly increase vegetable varieties, and often introduce new varieties, such as broccoli, asparagus, purple cabbage, cherry tomatoes, etc. Also encourage and praise children for trying. This not only allows children to get rich nutrients from different vegetables, but also develops good eating habits for children to eat a variety of foods.