Families Matter Newsletter |
|
September 2020
Volume 16, Issue 11
|
|
Family Mealtime with a Picky Eater |
|
Kids have to be exposed to vegetables 10-12 times, before they develop a taste for them! Fortunately, that doesn't mean you have to strap your four-year-old to a chair, and force him to eat a bowl of steamed broccoli 10-12 times. Nor do you have to enforce two-bite rules, or bribe, beg or threaten. And you certainly don't have to become the Michael Angelo of vegetable art.
In fact, you can expose your kids to vegetables without even getting the kids to taste them.
An exposure can be anything from a child seeing the vegetable on the table to allowing it to be placed on her plate, to trying it and spitting it out, to preparing it without eating it, to actually eating it and much more.
Watching vegetables grow from seedlings to fruiting plants is an exposure. That's why experts recommend you start a garden with your kids. Cooking vegetables with your kids is an exposure. That's why experts recommend you cook with your kids.
Even being able to identify what a variety of vegetables are is exposure. That's why trips through the produce section with kids is helpful. Letting them pick out something new is even more helpful. Then – and this is the hard one – allowing them to reject it, or worse, not even taste it when you get home, is helpful, too.
|
|
 |
Why You Must Let Kids Reject Vegetables
It's all part of the process of getting to know
vegetables, getting used to them, and then growing to like them.
Sound like anything else in life you've experienced? How many times have you heard stories about people who didn't even like each other when they first met, then they end up getting married? Indeed,
psychologists have proven that it is presence, not absence, that makes the heart grow fonder.
|
|
|
|
For the Love of Broccoli
Broccoli is a great example to explain the influence of exposure.
Carrots are a no brain'er. They have one of the highest sugar contents of any vegetable, so it isn't hard to develop a taste for carrots. Broccoli, on the other hand, is completely the opposite. It not only tastes somewhat bitter, it has a weird texture, and it looks, well, funny.
Yet when asked to identify a vegetable their kids will eat, parents frequently cite broccoli. It could be because parents frequently serve broccoli, either because they like it themselves, or because it goes well with cheese, dips, macaroni, and other familiar foods kids like. Clearly, the frequency of seeing broccoli over and over again could cause it to be named one of kids' favorite vegetables. Because there is nothing inherently attractive about broccoli on a sensory or taste basis that should make it so!
|
|
|
|
Check out these great lunch box ideas!!
Every wonder how to get kids to eat better and healthier at lunchtime—
especially if eating the school lunch isn’t their thing!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quesadillas—Kids love the quesadilla and sometimes parents get stuck believing this food has to be Mexican flavors. Try using a whole wheat tortilla and adding your child’s favorite lunch meat, cheese or vegetables. Spinach leaves and shredded carrots make a great addition to this item. Even better roll up the tortilla and make pinwheels!!
Cold Noodle Salads—Most kids love pasta noodles, but parents only think of them hot with tomato sauce!! Try a simple cold noodle salad with added veggies and diced meats.
|
|
|
|
Raise Successful Kids: Tips for Parents
- Regularly talk with your child and listen to their thoughts and feelings.
- Help them set high but realistic expectations and goals.
- Build your child’s self-esteem and confidence through safe experiences and encouragement.
- Keep your child healthy—ensure they get enough rest and eat nutritious foods.
- Communicate and stay connected with your child’s school and teachers.
- Help your child develop a circle of friends and good, healthy relationships.
- Keep your child safe at home, school and the neighborhood.
|
|
When you have upset or angry feelings, you have a hard time seeing clearly. Think of yourself as a person in a burning house surrounded by flames and smoke. It can be very hard to see any way out. It doesn't help to sit and fret or shake your fist at the smoke. As you approach parenting challenges, think about how you are feeling. Are you feeling angry, betrayed, disgusted, devastated or any other strong feeling? If so, the first job is to put out that fire.
No doubt you have many reasons for feeling tired, stressed or angry. There are probably many demands on your time and attention. No one can make everything all right. But maybe you can find ways to feel more calm, safe and sensible. It may help to find a quiet place to relax and breathe deeply: It could help to direct your thoughts to things that are good in your life.
Do you have the strengths of optimism, creativity or determination?
Do you have many good friends?
Do you have a strong family network?
What's good about your life?
It could also help you to do something else while you settle down.
Family Resources:
www.uaex.edu/parents Publications: Ginott, H. G. (2003). Between parent and child. New York: Three Rivers.
|
|
Simplify. Establish a single spot in the home for library books, permission slips, school binders, glasses, keys and other must-have items, to ensure things don’t get lost. Reduce the number of things kids must keep track of.
|
|
Make it easy to find things. Large spaces can attract clutter and are sometimes difficult to search through. Take advantage of small plastic tubs, sorting trays and other organization systems to help your child find, and put a way items easily.
Source: Parenting Press
|
|
Constructive Destruction! |
|
We’ve all been there. Feels like the house and kids just got clean and here they go destroying the room and themselves along with it. The best way to handle an into everything kids is to give them opportunities to be into everything you choose.
Here are a few examples:
- Allow time for free play in the water and dirt. When they are dressed in play clothes and you have time to “hose them off”!
- Give your child old magazines to cut and tear. Or, large pieces of paper to scribble on. This will help them leave the books and walls alone.
- Layout an obstacle course of big boxes for them to run into to, knock down and throw.
When a parent sets-up these play opportunities it helps give kids an outlet, but saves a parents sanity.
|
|
|
Breakfast Ideas
Overnight Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (see Tip)
2 1/2 cups unsweetened
nondairy milk, such as almond or coconut
8 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Stir oats, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Divide among five 8-ounce jars. Screw on lids and refrigerate overnight or for up to 5 days.
Makes 5 2/3 cup servings. 197 calories; total fat 4.3g; saturated fat 0.5g; sodium 318mg, potassium 173mg, carbohydrates 34.7g, fiber 4.8g, sugar 8g; protein 5.5g, added sugar 6g. Source: eatingwell.com
|
|
|
|
Contact the Extension Office at 273-7683 or sonya.mcdaniel@okstate.edu
Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments cooperating. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a veteran, and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
