It can be quite a struggle for parents to get stubborn children to eat their vegetables—which is why generations of them have come up with creative methods for sneaking nutrition into their kids’ diets.
In the survey of 2,000 parents with children under 18, half declared a parenting ‘win’ whenever their child requested a healthy snack. 53% said another win was watching them actually enjoying that healthy snack.
These wins could arguably be the most satisfying for parents too, because 55% of respondents agreed getting their child to eat healthy food was “difficult”.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Pirate’s Booty for National Snack Food Month in February, the survey looked at the top tips and hacks parents use to assist them in scoring those parentings wins.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said they’ve employed the “stealth health” technique to help them maintain a well-rounded and nutritious diet for their children.
21% of parents polled really dedicate themselves to stealth health by pureeing, dicing, or even grating vegetables so they can be snuck into a plate undetected.
Creativity is also key for parents—from slipping spinach into brownies or placing veggies underneath the cheese in pizza. One respondent even said they mix powdered baby food into mac n’ cheese in order to keep their kids eating their veggies.
‘Chicken nuggets’ is another key to stealth health, as twenty-two percent of parents surveyed said they’ve told their children breaded vegetables were chicken nuggets to help persuade the little ones to eat them and 21% said they’ve told their children all meat is chicken nuggets to give them a boost to eat it.
The most successful tip to keep their kids eating healthy, however, is simply allowing them to lend a hand in the kitchen (37%). Any way you slice it, adults all love those satisfying little ways we manage to empower ourselves while raising their brood.
WHAT ARE THE TOP 10 HACKS PARENTS USE TO MAINTAIN A NUTRITIOUS DIET FOR THEIR FAMILY? Survey Says…
- 1. Allowing your child to help cook meals so they will be more likely to eat them
- 2. Letting your child pick their own healthy snacks
- 3. Letting your child pick a few meals for the family to have each week
- 4. Only letting your child eat dessert if they’ve finished their vegetables
- 5. Switching the packaging from an unhealthy snack to a healthy snack
- 6. Bribing your child with a treat to get them to finish their dinner
- 7. Letting your child put a little ketchup on things they don’t like, so they will eat them
- 8. Using the “one more bite” rule over and over to get your child to finish their meal
- 9. Buying snacks with characters your child likes on the packaging so they would be more likely to eat it
- 10. Making faces with the food so your child will be entertained and be more likely to eat it.
