By Dina Cohen, MS, RDN, CEDRD
When my friend Esther told me that her kids prefer broccoli to pizza, I knew we had to talk
some more. Esther is a mom to three children under the age of five, and she is also one of the
most relaxed, serene individuals I know. I’ve chosen her as one of my “role model moms” (I
collect them) and the way she feeds her children is just one of the many things I admire about
her. I’ve asked Esther to share her techniques for raising healthy eaters. Here are her tips!
1. Expose kids to a wide variety of foods. Kids each have their own preferences, so by
exposing them to many different foods, you enable them to find their healthy favorites. Esther
doesn’t get stuck in a rut of serving only things she knows they’ll eat. In her house, “Kids taste
everything. After that, they can have an opinion. If they don’t like something, it’s not a big a
deal. They’ll meet their needs at another meal.” Esther finds that involving kids in meal prep is a
great way to motivate them to try new foods. She suggests saying something along the lines of
“Libby helped make the salad today. Doesn’t it look delicious? Thank you, Libby!”
2. Know that whatever Mommy eats is exciting. There is nothing more powerful than role
modeling. “Kids pick up on your vibes,” Esther says. “Let them see you eating and enjoying
healthy foods. I love fruits and vegetables. I really think they taste good, and so do my kids. I
stocked up on of fruits and veggies at the beginning of the week and cut them up into snack
bags for my kids to take to day camp. They were ecstatic. My four-year-old ran over to me with
her veggie bag and said, ‘Mommy, smell it! Smell it! It’s so yummy!’ ” Esther shares how she
recently bought fresh cherries and her daughter was so excited she tried to climb up to the top
shelf of the fridge to get them. Her younger son loves imitating his big sister as well as his mom,
and he eats plenty of fruits and veggies too. Cherry tomatoes are a family favorite. “They enjoy
putting one in each side of their cheeks and looking weird.” Mealtime is a wonderful time for
role modeling healthy behaviors. Esther makes a point of sticking around during mealtime. “Sit
at the table with them and they will have an easier time eating. The more people at the table,
the better. I’ve noticed that whenever we have guests, they’ll do better at meals. It’s always
best if you can eat with them. You can beg them to eat a bowl of cereal and they’ll refuse, but
sit down and have one yourself and they’ll come crowding around.”
3. Help kids build healthy habits early on. Because her daughter refused water at a young
age, Esther began giving her juice, but she always dilutes the juice with water. “I dilute it so
much, it’s like flavored water. The other day I’d diluted the juice while it was still in the
container, and when I poured some for my daughter, she said, ‘Hey, you didn’t put in water!” I
try to give my kids whole grain products and while it doesn’t always go over successfully, it
often does. They aren’t fans of whole wheat bread, but they really like brown rice. “Get away
with it when you can.”
4. Provide all foods. Esther sets the stage for healthy choices but she knows when to step
back. “I do let go because I don’t want my kid to be the one eating candy under the table.”
Recently, her four-year-old has been asking for a freeze pop upon coming home from day camp
because she sees the neighborhood kids having them, and Esther has no problem allowing her
to have too. She’s ok with it because her daughter enjoys many healthy foods as well and she
does not want her to feel deprived. She knows her daughter is used to a healthy routine and
understands that all foods can be part of a balanced lifestyle.
5. Understand that it will be challenging. Things don’t always go smoothly at Esther’s table.
“It’s hard when you put in a lot of work to prepare a meal you think they’ll really like but then
they don’t eat it.” However, Esther believes that this is because “Children are challenging! It’s
not food-specific. They don’t always do what you want, and you’ll have to readjust your
expectations. Don’t drop the whole thing, but know that you might have to rework the
scenario.”
6. Don’t have an agenda. Esther feels it’s important not to get too worked up about your
children’s eating. “When they feel you are anxious for them to eat something, they won’t want
it. It’s like when you’re anxious for them to go to sleep on time because you have a babysitter
coming; they’ll sense it and won’t go to sleep.” She believes it’s best not to be overly invested in
the outcome, or at least to “pretend you don’t care!” When I asked Esther to share some
rewarding moments, she replied, “I don’t view it that way because I don’t put in intense effort. I
don’t have an agenda. We keep trying things, and when something doesn’t work, it doesn’t
work. And something that didn’t work at first might work later on. So rather than individual
rewarding moments, I get slow, gradual gratification. I’m seeing that the seeds I’ve planted
have successfully grown.”