So I think i have reasonably unfussy kids. Reasonably. However, my oldest (2.9) won't eat fruit at all - not even in the form of cake like apple crumble. And my youngest (14 months) who has always been a brilliant eater has suddenly got more picky.
It occurred to me that despite me trying to be a good mum and making wholesome homecooked meals, they are not getting their five fruit and veg a day. To be honest, I don't always either.
So today I decided to create a five-a-day chart which I decorated with pictures of vegetables (which is a useful educational tool too!). Everytime my kids eat a portion (or a part thereof) of fruit/veg, they get a sticker. If at the end of the day they have 5 stickers, they may have one chocolate button. Now i know many people will say that this is causing food issues, rewarding with something sweet in a bid to get them to eat veg, but I needed a plan and this was it.
mostly I wanted to really see how much fruit and veg they were getting in a day, because I often feel like they've had a lot because I've served it to them, but they haven't necessarily eaten it and I dont monitor closely how much they're having.
So the day started off poorly. I put in effort with lunch - sausages, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, gravy made of onion and cannelini beans, peas, corn and sugar snap peas. They ate the sausages.
By mid afternoon the younger one had 3 stickers. The older one had 1. So i pointed out their lack of stars and immediately the older one starts asking for 'fruit and vegebubbles'. So he ate a banana. Yes folks, he actually ate a banana. Fruit.
I then gave them leek and potato soup for supper. Little one ate it and by this time had his five stickers. Older one refused. he then saw his little brother get a chocolate button. He said he wanted one. i said not until he had 5 stickers - and he was two short. So i said he could either eat his soup or have a portion of carrots and a portion of broccoli. He chose the latter. And ate it all. he then got his chocolate button.
Now maybe this is a bad way of getting them to eat fruit and veg - but good grief it drove home the message. It also made me so much more vigilant about how much they were having. And when I was getting my older one undressed for his bath, he stretched up and said: I'm growing tall because I had my fruit and vegebubbles.
Not sure how long it will last but it's working for now so thought I'd share in case anyone else has the same problem.
