In the life of a child, the parents are the first teachers of proper nutrition ... yet, if you are a parent you would know that it is not that easy of a walk! How many conflicts at the table, how many "No, I do not want it", "I do not like it" have you had?

The most common mistakes

Taken by anxiety that his/her child won't eat, the parent will use the most various strategies.

• Promises: "If you eat this we will let you play for an extra hour outside", or even worse "If you finish your meal tomorrow we will all go eat fast food".
• Blackmails: "If you don't eat we won't take you to the movie theater".

Most of the time parents get the desired result, the child will eat, without realizing something very important: the message associated with the food becomes negative for the child and he/she will only eat to get another thing resulting in not understanding the food itself.

Eat together: it can be a magic moment!

Sitting at the dinner table all together needs to be a happy and peaceful moment, not a stressful one!

When a meal is not very pleasing to your child, especially when offered fruits and vegetables, try to apply alternative methods that will result not only in the accomplishment of having your child eat properly, but also in raising awareness of the food, of dinner time, and its meaning.

10 Usefull tips

1. Parents, set a good example! If you avoid certain kinds of food, it's possible your children will too!
2. Arrange meals in small portions, be creative. Make smiley faces or small animal shapes in the plate: everything will be more fun.
3. Too many alternatives can be confusing to children. Give only one option and avoid cooking personalized meals for the child.
4. Do not force the child to finish his/her food, if he/she feels full. Their fullness sensation doesn't always correspond to what we assume. They will simply eat more at their next meal.
5. Engaging your child is always important: in regard to nutrition, you can explore lots of things together. Start with grocery shopping together, make it fun and interesting. For example, take him/her by the colorful fruits and veggies or fish stands.
6. While you are shopping or cooking, take the opportunity to talk to you child about his curiosity on foods: talking about it will make food become more of a friend to your child!   
7. Tell your child he/she is your little "cook" helper, and have him/her participate during the preparation of the dishes. Guide your child, perhaps with a little "story", in what you are doing. Let the child handle food, smell the food changes during cooking, see how the colors change, it will help to acquire awareness of the food and will give expectation to what he/she will eat!
8. If the child is the creator of what he/she will have in his/her plate, then he will associate this experience to a positive memory and not feel excluded from the choices made for him. More than likely the child will want to repeat the experience.
9. Create fascinating stories about the food your child is eating, associate stories' characters or superheros. Food must be fun and magic for your child.
10. If you have a small open space available, take the time to make a small vegetable garden. Have your child help with the small plants and conclude by having him/her taste the results of their hard work.

Children love to be part of grown-up work and will be more lenient to accept what is in their plate....because they made it!