Series 3: Fruit & Vegetables
Clara never eats fruit. Timothy picks out all green stuff from his plate. Mirabelle will not chew her vegetables. Mrs. Tan resorts to pureeing vegetables into soup to mask their presence. Aunty Heng watches kids waste all the vegetables on their plates in the tuck shop.
Yes, some kids take to fruit and vegetables like ducks to water, but to many others eating fruit and vegetables is a chore. Mums and Dads despair over their kids' avoidance of these nourishing foods, considered vital for health and wellness. But, a more holistic approach to these wonderful foods may help make more of a friend than a foe.
Fruit and vegetables – Getting From Plate To Tummy
- After six months: Baby is now ready to include other more solid foods into his diet as he has progressed from just sucking to now being able to swallow. Along with the rice cereal, include soft vegetables and fruit. You can cook, puree and mash to achieve a texture that your child's eating ability can handle. Introduce one new vegetable or fruit at a time. Wait three days before you add on another to your child's diet so that you can pick up any that may cause a reaction in your child.
- After seven months: More variety, more texture and more flavours. Hold off the bitter and pungent varieties as little children are very sensitive to these strong flavours. Just like everything in life your child needs to and can learn to chew and bite on fruit and vegetables. By the age of nine months, you child should be eating finger foods of soft pieces. So, graduate him as he is able, but, supervise eating to ensure that your baby is safe at all times.
Let Kids Explore, Experiment, Experience
Explore. Every kid learns differently – so, allow your child to touch and hold the whole fruit or vegetable (except prickly ones like the durian or heavy ones such as the jackfruit). Help him to express what he feels by asking simple questions to crystallize the experience. Is it smooth? Is it hard? And, so forth... wait to hear his answer and go with the flow. Name the fruit, state the colour, speak about the goodness of the food item and link it to stories or cartoon characters (for e.g. Popeye and spinach; Bananas in Pyjamas and more) that your child is familiar with.
Experiment. Cut up the fruit or vegetable and allow your toddler to see and feel pulp / fruit carp. Help your little one experience the texture by placing the fruit in his hand. Allow him to play with the produce – if he wants to roll it, hold it, and eat the edible parts – then let him. If he transforms it into a play toy, allow him to. The more familiar he is with the fruit / vegetable, the more likely will he be to eat it and, not fear it *.
Experience. Allow your toddler to taste the fruit and vegetable. As child gets older you can involve him in planting a few vegetables in the garden or balcony, selecting fruit and vegetable at the supermarket, help you to wash it, cut it (with child-proof cutlery), and, even cook and serve it. Kids feel tremendous ownership to things they 'own' – so, maximise this potential to get them to eat the produce as well.
Play Activities With Fruit and Vegetables
Learn names
- As you feed your child fruit and vegetables, tell them the names.
- Take your little one to the supermarket and point out the beautifully coloured fruit and vegetables and read out the names.
- Get a poster or a set of play cards with colourful fruit and vegetable pictures. Ask your child to pick up a particular fruit or vegetable card.
Learn colours
- Nature's produce come in many hues. Just pointing out the colours will expand your child's recognition of more names of colours.
- Ask your child to name just all the green fruit and vegetables – guava, kiwi, and spinach will surely feature on the list.
Learn textures
- Fruit and vegetables offer so many textures to explore. So, create opportunities for your toddler to touch – the skin / peel, cut up the fruit and allow your kid to touch, hold, squeeze. Speak out the words and he will soon experience what you mean when you say soft, hard, prickly, smooth, mushy and more.
Learn math
- Allow your child to count the fruit as you buy them at the market or the number of seeds in an apple.
- You can teach fractions as you cut up an apple – half, quarter and more minute sections. Fractions will be a simple concept to him outside the classroom.
- Weigh the fruit at home or in the supermarket to help your kid learn the concept of weight.
- Extract juice out of fruit and measure the liquid in a calibrated jug to teach volume.
Learn art
- Cross sections of fruit and vegetables make delightful shapes that lend themselves as effective moulds. So, cut up the produce in interesting sections, and allow your kids to dip in paint and create master pieces on canvas.
- For older kids, some fruit juices make great 'mystery' ink. Let kids write with orange juice and after it dries and disappears, warm up the paper gently to allow the letter to reappear.
- Fruit and vegetables juices also make up many magnificent natural pigments that can be used as paints.
Learn gardening
- Take time to visit the farms in Singapore. Really! There are a few. The back to nature experience will help your child see how the produce reaches his plate.
- Allow your child to 'garden' in a little piece of land – a small section of the garden or a pot on the balcony. Plant seeds together, water it and then, allow him to enjoy the fruits of his labour. Easy wins are tomatoes, beans and other quickly growing varieties.
Learn cooking
- Kids can help in the kitchen. Allow age-appropriate participation. Never mind the mess. But, do supervise for safety.
- Kitchen activities help your child touch, smell and taste food often so that they are familiar with these experiences. All these exposures will help them eat up their fruit and vegetables without a fuss.
* Note: Some parents are not too keen about kids playing with food and go with your own philosophy. But teach your kids to respect food.
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For expert advice on paediatric nutrition, please contact Abbott Nutrition Careline at 6278-6220.
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