Have you ever experienced shopping with children in a mall or supermarket and noticed that they feel happy to buy all the colorful chocolates and candies? But they do not show interest in buying fruits.
We all know that fruits are good for our health and immune system, but we do not have the habit of eating them. Especially in children, it's hard to develop a fruit-eating habit.
According to a survey by the American Heart Association, only 27% of children eat fruits, and 91% of children do not eat enough fruits. According to their daily requirement, they like to eat unhealthy fast food.
Fruits are a natural source of vitamins, minerals, iron, and fibers that are important for your children's growth and physical health.
Most parents are uneducated. They don't know we develop food-eating habits from day one in our children. Children need to learn about the sugar and salt taste we introduced them to.
Parents start giving children unhealthy foods early to show their love and affection for children, like adding sugar to milk bottles, licking candies to infants, and introducing ice cream and other junk foods.
It is in your hands to introduce them with healthy foods or with unhealthy foods.
It's hard to change habits and develop new ones, but it's not impossible; we can change it gradually.
We can be role models for our children. We can use fruits in baking, encourage your children to eat healthy foods, give them rewards, and you should avoid buying junk foods.
There are many other ways through which we can encourage them to eat healthy foods and fruits.
Let's dive deep and find ways to develop fruit habits in our children, so continue reading if you want to disclose this secret.
Benefits Of Fruits And Children
Fruits are a natural source of energy. It helps to build muscle, brain, and children's immune systems to fight germs and keep them healthy and active. It is suitable for your children's growth.
Fruits not only have fresh and charming colors, but they also have different benefits.
Yellow-colored fruits like mangoes and pineapples suit children's bones and muscles.
Red-colored fruits like strawberries and pomegranates are suitable for the heart health of children.
Purple and blue-colored fruits like Blueberries and plums are good for fighting germs.
Green-colored fruits like grapes and kiwis are good for energy and power to keep your children energetic. All fruits benefit children, so we can not ignore them.
Begin Early And Stay Regular To Develop Fruit Habit
Children start developing taste at the age of 5-6 months. They begin to recognize the food.
If you start giving them at this age, they can develop this habit faster. But it would be best if you did it regularly.
You should start with one or two soft fruits like mangoes and bananas. These fruits are smooth, and babies can eat and digest quickly. Mash these fruits well until they are soft before you give them.
This method also helps you to find which fruit is not suitable for your baby. If it causes an allergy or loose motion, then stop giving it and consult with your doctor.
The most important thing is to stay persistent even if they don't like it. Keep going by changing your recipes accordingly.
Be A Role Model For Your Children
Your children notice your actions and habits the whole day and then unintentionally follow them.
They learn from you. So you can help them develop fruit habits by enjoying fruits in front of your children to inspire them that you are eating healthy and tasty food.
1- Set A Timetable.
According to your schedule, sit the whole family together and eat fruits with them. Try to make this time full of fun. In this way, your children will learn about the time and also feel happy to eat fruits.
2- Prepare Your Lunch
If you are working in an office, then you should avoid junk and unhealthy foods for your lunch, especially in front of your children, and make your lunch box with fruits.
They will learn how fruits are essential for us, and they will adopt this habit from you.
3- Shopping At A Grocery Store
When you create your grocery shopping list, sit with your children and involve them in choosing the fruits that you want to buy.
This little work makes them happy, and they will show interest in shopping with you.
Engage Them With Fruits
Children have a lot of free time, and they want to play and stay busy with different activities.
You can engage your children in different activities with fun related to fruits. It will help them to build their interest in eating fruit.
You can give them different tasks to complete, to attain their interest here are a few ones.
1- Fruit Tasting Game
You can play a game with your children, take a piece of cloth and cover their eyes, cut the different fruits in small sizes, give them a taste, and ask them the name of that fruit. In this way, you will also enjoy playing games with your children.
2- Creative Fruit Art
Children love to play with colors and art. You can make their favorite cartoon character with fruits they will like to eat and enjoy them.
Make funny faces and work together with your children to help them choose the colors and shapes that they want. It is fun to take pictures of this art and share them with your children's friends. Here are a few examples of it.
Use grapes to make Balloon bouquet ideas on a nice plate.
Use some melted chocolate on fruit to shape them like zebra, penguins, lions, etc.
Use blackberries and strawberries to draw animal eyes, feet, and noses.
Use Fruits In Baking
You can use different fruits and dry fruits in baking recipes. Baking with fruits can develop fruit habits in children by enhancing their interest in the recipes they bake.
Baking with fruits is a good activity. It is a lot of fun to do, and children love to do it. By baking, they not only spend their time in healthy activities, but they also learn many things about cooking and baking different recipes.
Let them Make different recipes your children like by helping them mold the recipe and make new recipes by adding fruit juice, dry fruits, fruit pulp, etc.
Pancakes: If your children like pancakes, try different fruit pancakes, e.g., banana, mango, or pineapple pancakes.
Pies: pies are also a good option for giving fruits to their children. Try different fruit pies.
Cakes Children like to eat cakes, so bake them at home with fresh fruits and dried fruit. You can also try biscuits and fruit pudding.
Give Fruits As A Reward
When your children do good work or behave well, encourage them by giving them their favorite fruit as a reward. Create a chart for points and then write their prizes, like different fruits, shakes, ice creams, juices, and salads.
Behavior | Points Earned | Reward |
Make your bed and arrange your room | 20 points | Mango juice |
Sharing with Others | 5 points | Pineapple chunks |
Finishing Homework | 10 points | Choose a fruit ice cream |
Being Polite | 5 points | Choose a fruit Snack |
Brush your teeth | 8 points | Hear a story at bedtime |
Helping a Sibling | 10 points | Eat fruit cake |
Organizing toys | 10 Points | Blueberry bowl |
Practicing reading | 13 Points | Banana Bread |
Being helpful at mealtime | 17 Points | Apple Crips |
This positive activity helps them to build good behavior and also to eat healthy foods.
Use Fruits As Snacks
Give your children fruits as snacks. Do not buy unhealthy snacks from the market; make them at home. You can get help by following different cooking channels and YouTube videos and reading books and blogs. Make various snacks with fruits like:
Fruit Candy: Dip sliced apples, oranges, or strawberries in caramel and freeze. You can use it as a snake.
Fruit ice cream: Make fruit ice cream or popsicles at home and enjoy it.
Mix dry fruits: Mix different fruits with caramel and use them as a snake.
Use Fruit Shape Images
You can decorate your kitchen and dyeing room with fruit stickers, Images, and artificial fruits; it will give a fresh and healthy look to your home and also encourage the children to eat fruits to stay healthy.
Children like to attach the stickers, so buy some fruit stickers for children and give them to stick to their room and lunch boxes. This activity helps them to like the fruits.
Arrange Fruits parties
Children like to celebrate parties and meet with friends; you can arrange little fruit parties at home or outside or at some fun location with family, friends, neighbors, relatives, and your children's friends.
This type of gathering makes your children happy. They will learn to eat healthy foods with fun. Children also copy their friends' eating habits. So these types of minor parties help the children to build new healthy eating habits.
Arrange your party with for more fun:
Decorate it with fruit balloons.
Wear fruit-themed dresses.
Make every dish from fruit.
Celebrate The Fruits Days
When new fruits come and start their seasons, arrange little gatherings and celebrate the fruits day. It's an easy way to educate the children about fruit benefits in a fun way; you can set fruit themes and dress for children according to the fruit color.
Songs And Stories
Try to sing and listen to fruit songs with your children. Buy them fruit story books and drawing books.
Read fruit character stories to educate them on the importance of fruits and their health benefits.
This way, you will educate them about the fruits and their benefits.
Dress up Your Fruits
Fruit dressing can enhance the beauty of your fruit platter or salad. If your children do not like to eat simple fruit, you can use different sauces according to their taste. If your children got bored eating apples, it's time to change the flavor.
You can cut the apples in a bowl and squeeze a lemon on it, add a little salt, black paper, and rose water, mix well, and enjoy it. You can also add the following things according to your children's taste.
salt
black pepper
honey
Orange juice
Fruit dressing not only enhances the beauty but also increases the taste and attention of your children. This way, you can turn a boring fruit into a yummy one.
Psychological Effects Of Habits
When we see, read, and listen to the same thing again and again, willingly or unwillingly, it sends a message to our unconscious mind, and we get attracted to that particular thing.
That's why all these steps will have psychological effects on your children.
Follow any of 4-5 of your favorite steps from above to develop fruit habits in children of any age.
You can practice all these steps from time to time as your children like.
Ask your children which steps they would like to practice because taking their opinions will also increase their interest.
There is no need to follow all these steps at a time because excess of anything also has negative impacts.
Conclusion - How To Develop Fruit Habits In Children
Fruits are excellent and healthy for your children. As a parent, you must become a role model for your children. Children will adopt the same eating habits which do in front of them.
Sit together with your children and eat fruit with fun. Play games and arrange fruit parties to develop fruit-eating habits in your children. When you visit a supermarket to buy fruit, take your children.
You can use fruits in baking; children will love it. To get new ideas, keep reading books and articles with videos.
FAQS - How To Develop Fruit Habits In Children
Q: Which fruits are suitable for children's brain development?
A: Blueberries, avocados, Oranges, Bananas, apples, and strawberries are good for children's brain health.
Q: What happens if a child doesn't eat vegetables and fruits?
Q: How do you get the child to eat fruits?
Comments