In my Ick Factor post, I talked about one technique of getting children to eat tasty healthy foods. There are several techniques that I use to manipulate my children into eating tasty healthy foods that I can think of just off the top of my head.
In another post, I commented about someone else’s blog post about age and happiness, “So, while I believe it’s perfectly okay to point out flaws without offering a solution it is generally futile to do so.” So, I’m going to do that here.
1. I attach strong positive emotions to the event. e.g. cheer when they take a bite. I clap, “yeah” and make fool of myself to get them to smile. I personally think the human reaction to cheering is innate and affects everyone positively, whether you’re an athlete, on a stage, or not.
2. Attach sounds that are naturally attached to such emotions. e.g. “hmmm” “mmmmm” “gooooooood” and “yummmmmm.” This this gets the children saying these things because they are fun and the utterances get attached to healthy eating.
3. I rub my tummy because it is silly and it’s probably hard-wired to do so when you’re eating yummy foods.
4. Talk about the fun sensations associated with eating certain foods. e.g. “peas are fun to eat when you pop them in your mouth.” Children like popping things. Especially bubble wrap. Also, notice the lesser included structure of the sentence, “you pop them in your mouth.” It creates the manipulative 2nd meaning of a command.
5. I pretend I’m going to eat theirs if they don’t. I slowly and playfully motion towards their plate.
6. I pretend to be upset that they are eating their own peas. Children like to be in control of your emotions.
7. I pretend to be mad when they steal peas off of my plate. Children like to be in control of your emotions.
8. And, eventually, I pretend to be upset when they want the remaining scoop left in the serving dish. It’s just not fair that they get the last of the peas. People, I mean children, like to be the benefactor of unfairness.
9. I talk about their sibling liking the particular food being served. This gets emulation and a little competition going.
10. I talk about Olympian Shawn Johnson liking them. As well as any other celebrity. e.g. Cinderella, Dora, etc. Some might think this is dishonest, if so, refer to my Anything but That post. It was written for you. Shawn, thanks for being a veggie lover!
11. Rarely, and I mean rarely, do I offer some type of treat reward. If I do, it’s usually a surprise offering after they have eaten their serving and usually just in the beginning phase (the first few meals that they are being exposed to it and resisting.) Kind of like a jackpot at the casino. I’ll lose a few readers out there for that one.
12. I constantly chide, tease and playfully exaggerate things in order to add fun to eating new things.
13. Of course, I do the airplane bit with a spoonful flying into their mouth. Complete with the engine noises and other effects. They enjoy this, but it’ll be embarrassing for them at their 13th birthday party!
There are other ideas out there, but you can see how my children don’t stand a chance against the persuasiveness of their dear ole Dad when it comes to eating tasty healthy foods. Lucky kids, I tell ya. And that’s no lie!
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Changing corporate culture is like getting kids to eat peas -Sherri Maxson #analogy #simile
Being pretty on the inside means you don’t hit your brother and you eat all your peas – that’s what my grandma taught me. -Lord Chesterfield #complexequivalence
Mostly, I spend my time being a mother to my two children, working in my organic garden, raising masses of sweet peas, being passionately involved in conservation, recycling and solar energy. -Blythe Danner #enumeratio
Photo Credit: flickr and WordRidden
