Avoiding Food Fights with Your Kids

Step 2: Involve Children in the Food-Making Process.

As children enter grade school, their food choices broaden and they often become curious about cooking and where their food comes from. You can put that curiosity to good use by including your kids in the process of purchasing, preparing, and serving food. When children are involved in these activities, they are much more likely to try new foods and develop new tastes.

Food-Related Activities for Kids

Involve your child in meal preparation. Even your toddler can mash a banana or add some dried raisins to a recipe. Explain what you are preparing, and if you can be flexible about the ingredients, let your child choose.

Where does food come from? Children of all ages delight in going berry- or apple-picking, helping out in a garden, and visiting farms or farmers' markets.

Do a taste-test in which you ask your child to distinguish between fresh vegetables picked right from the garden and produce that has traveled many miles and waited weeks before making it to the table.

Make a basic dish your child enjoys, such as oatmeal, and gather a few ingredients that you can mix in, such as fruits, nuts, and spices. Then the two of you can work together to make small batches of different flavor combinations. Taste each one, rank them from favorite to least favorite, and compare your preferences.

Teach your child all the steps necessary to make one or more favorite dishes, such as a salad, bean burrito, or fruit smoothie. Many children delight in mastering a recipe or two. You might encourage them to write these recipes down in a notebook.