This magic will get your toddler to eat vegetables
Once upon a time when I was seven, I believed in magic. (Ok probably twelve, don’t judge.) It’s something that I think is a wonderful part of childhood – fairies, Santa Claus, Wingardium Leviosa – all of it. I’m sincerely excited for Cimorene to get to the age where she understands the idea of magic. Granted, she’s named after a princess who runs away to live with dragons, befriends a witch and a magician, and uses magic to save the day. So… I guess maybe I never really grew out of it?
But as a mom, I think about magic a little differently. Magic is something that makes every day a little easier. Magic is a dishwasher that completely cleans dishes without having to rinse them first. Magic is a hands-free, boob-shaped breast pump that I can literally wear anywhere. Magic is my babysitter getting Cimorene to pick up her toys before going to bed, and actually getting her IN to bed by 8pm. (P.S. HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!)
I’m going to share every bit of magic I come across, if it truly works. And this, mamas, is magic.
A few months ago I was teaching a cooking class to an incredible group of homeless mamas as part of an organization called Cooking Matters. Each class has a volunteer nutritionist, and this one had Janet: a veteran nutrition professor, mama, and grandmama, so she knew her stuff. One day she casually dropped this gem, in response to a mama who had a hard time getting her kids to eat vegetables:
“My kids were always hungry right before dinner. So I used to cut up vegetables, and they would be so hungry they would eat the vegetables!”
Surely it couldn’t be that easy. Cimorene is ALWAYS hungry the hour before dinner, and it’s a fight to get her to not snack. But if she’s eating veggies, I wouldn’t really care if she’s snacking, right? So I tried it. The next night when she was hungry and asking for a banana I said something like this:
“you know what? I can see you’re really hungry! And mama usually says no to snacks before dinner. So here’s what we’ll do – you can ALWAYS have a veggie snack. So if mama says no snacks, you just say ‘but mama, can I have a veggie snack?’ and mama will say yes!”
I started with an assortment – carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and celery. And I reinforced it every night. I would even make a joke out of it, to show her she was in charge! She’d ask for a banana, and I would say no. Then when she started to get upset I would say “remember what mama said? When I say no snacks before dinner, what do you get to say to mama?? Do you get to say ‘no mama!’” I don’t remember exactly how long it took, but no more than a week or two before it caught on. She fought it some nights, but we cruised through the tantrums and just kept up with the routine. Now she knows if I say no, she can ask for a veggie snack. And, I always make sure to keep some of her favorites (currently yellow pepper and cucumbers) in the fridge. Here’s the key steps that I think made it work for us:
Acknowledging her feelings throughout. “I can see you’re really hungry”, or “I can see you really wanted that [cracker/banana/pouch]”. Validating Cimorene’s feelings sometimes gets her back into a place where she’s willing to listen, or at least negotiate. Be genuine when you do it!
Starting with a few different veggies they she could choose from. It gave her back a sense of control when I was essentially taking control away from her.
Being unfailingly consistent, and willing to endure some tough evenings. As with so many things: if you cheat for a night, you’re basically starting over.
Making it into something fun! You know your kids best. For me, it was giving Cimorene a chance to say “No mama! You said I can always have a veggie snack!” if I told her no snack before dinner. She thought it was the cat’s pajamas that she could tell me no and I’d have to agree with her.
Tonight, Cimorene at broccoli. VOLUNTARILY. Because we were making broccoli salad, and she was hungry, and she knew she was allowed eat it. Did she sneak some dried cranberries in between broccoli bites? Yup. But whatever. My toddler is eating BROCCOLI!! So, I tell you mamas: this is seriously magic. It takes some time and patience, but for me it was totally worth it. I hope it works for you as well as it’s worked for me!