What are Fruits and Vegetables?
Fruits and vegetables are among the healthiest foods around. They contain vitamins and minerals not a lot of other foods have, which will help the human body. Also, since they are grown, fruit contains significant amounts of water in them; this is a benefit to kids with dehydration problems because when they eat a fruit, they will be hydrated. To parents, Fruits and vegetables are the miracle foods; foods that will help their kids stay healthy and strong. However, unfortunately, kids and teens do not have the same mindset as everyone else, and not a lot of kids enjoy eating them, some do not even eat them. In addition, it is one reason kids are becoming overweight or obese, because they are not eating the right foods.
The taste to some of these foods might not be appealing to kids.
One reason (and probably the main reason) kids might not eat fruit and veggies is because the taste of these foods. Although most parents would try to motivate their child that they taste good, the kid would try them, if they do not like it spit it out, and they would never want to try it again. This relates back to one of my previous articles, in which I talked about kids being traumatized after exercise that makes them not feel good. The same happens here, especially if a kid throws up the fruit or vegetable they are eating. I have a few examples of this, my first example was when I had apple pie one night, and since I did not like it, it did not mix in well with the other foods I ate that night, and therefore I was sick the whole night. After that night, I felt sick every time I looked at apple pie, like for two years after I got sick. I think that kids feel every time they eat a fruit or veggie they do not like and therefore try to avoid the food, so they do not have to experience it over.
The texture of some of these foods might make kids feel uncomfortable
Another reason kids might not like veggies and fruits is that their texture could weird them out. Texture is a big thing in foods, and when textures are weird on them, it will make kids uncomfortable and sometimes sick. Vegetables and fruits are among the foods with weird textures like with how broccoli are shaped like trees, and how bananas sometimes have those brown spots on its skin, or how apples and pears have those moles that make them look so gross, and I am assuming that most kids would not like to eat gross foods. I have a lot of experience with this as well, and it is a main reason why I do not eat vegetables. My main example is when I was 5 or 6, I was eating a banana while looking at something I do not like, the texture of the banana was weirding me out but at the same time I was focused on what I did not like and therefore I hardly ever eat bananas because I hate their texture. Another example was tofu, and even though this was not a vegetable, I had the same reaction to it. This time I was a little older like seven or eight and my grandparents ordered Japanese food. I was a trier back then, and I always will be, but tofu was the one food I did not want to try. My main reason was the texture looked like tiny white little boxes inside of green mush, and because of this, it made me feel weird, so I never tried it. Therefore, kids and teens do not care for fruit and veggies; they know how the texture of some will make them feel.
Rewards given after vegetables and fruits are eaten
As a teen myself, the one thing that will motivate me to do things I do not want to do, is to get a reward after. This method is a great way for kids to eat vegetables and fruits, so this way not only will the kids get the fruits and veggies they need, they will have a reward to look forward to after the task is accomplished. Some examples of rewards would be after the child eats their vegetables, they can have something sweet, can watch an extra show, or they can play a game act. These are just some, but I am sure the parents could think of other cool or creative ones. This method will make kids feel good about what they are doing since they are getting rewards at the end, and it will help kids do things they don’t like doing, especially if it means eating fruit or vegetables.