No more panic: Expert reveals why children avoid vegetables
How to teach the child to love vegetables (photo: Freepik)
Every parent may feel helpless, having cooked a healthy vegetable stew, only to hear that their child demands only an apple or a banana. Social media pressures us with perfect plates full of broccoli, but reality is often different. Dietitian Lucy Upton explains why parents don't need to worry.
What parents must know about children's nutrition
Well-known pediatric dietitian Lucy Upton decided to settle the debate with advice that fits into two words: "Don't be worried."
"If your kids love fruit but are completely indifferent to vegetables, welcome to the club—there are many of us here," the expert said.
Why fruit isn't worse substitute
Amid the noise on social media, a myth has emerged that fruit is just sugar, while all the benefits come only from vegetables. But the dietitian stresses an important fact that fruits and vegetables belong to the same category for a reason: they contain nearly identical sets of nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber.
"If your child is eating plenty of fruit, but perhaps not as much in the way of vegetables, that is okay. It's very likely that they will be getting lots of the nutrients they need from that food group, from our friends, fruit," Upton reassures.
Sugar danger myth
The expert urges parents to ignore scare stories about fruit's high sugar content. It's natural sugar that children genuinely need.
Young kids are instinctively drawn to energy-dense foods because their brains and bodies are growing rapidly and require constant "fuel."
What parents should do
"So do keep offering those veg, do keep exposing and giving them time to learn about these foods. But in the meantime, don't be worried if they prefer fruit," the specialist said.
While a child is learning to like vegetables, fruit can fully support their immunity.
This material is for informational purposes only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or self-treatment. Our goal is to provide readers with accurate information about symptoms, causes, and methods of detecting diseases. RBС-Ukraine is not responsible for any diagnoses that readers may make based on materials from the resource. We do not recommend self-treatment and advise consulting a doctor in case of any health concerns.
