Sometimes getting children to eat properly can be a nightmare. Most of the time children only want sweets, crisps, and chocolate because these are foods they see as exciting. They know they can only have such treats now and again and thus they become an exciting choice.
However, when it comes to eating other foods – such as cereal, fruit, biscuits, bread, vegetables, and so on and so forth – children seem to simply move their food around the plate and barely eat anything. They sense that you want them to eat the food and therefore in their eyes it is deemed boring. But it is so important to make sure your child eats well. Of course, it is important for maintaining a healthy weight. Nevertheless, as any dentist will tell you, it’s important for the child’s oral health too.
But, luckily, there is a way you can try to get your children to eat all sorts of foods. So, let’s take a look…
Look for a Cartoon on the Box
There is an array of different foods available in supermarkets nowadays that feature images of cartoon characters on the box. This includes anything from tins of tuna, to breakfast cereal, to biscuits, to yoghurts, to cheese, to tinned spaghetti and much more. If you look around you will actually see that there is a mass selection of food that has a certain cartoon featured, this can be anything from Scooby Doo to Peppa Pig to Tom and Jerry.
The Food Seems More Exciting
The main reason why children eat food when it has came out of a box related to their favourite cartoon is because it seems more exciting. Take a tin of spaghetti for example. When your child sees a tin of spaghetti in the shops it is unlikely that the tin will provoke any positive emotions. However, if the tin was labelled with the child’s favourite cartoon show, then they will immediately notice their favourite cartoon show or character. They will be immediately drawn to it and this should create excitement.
They Think the Food Is a Special Addition
Another reason why children tend to eat food if it has come out of cartoon wrapping is because they believe they are getting to experience a new type of food. They believe they are eating food that is fit for their favourite cartoon character. Therefore, if they see Scooby Doo Coco Pops then your child may think that there is a new type of cereal about. And this means that a lot of the time they simply cannot wait to get the food out of the box and begin to indulge.
They May Even Get a Special Toy
On occasion, food labelled with a popular cartoon character comes with a gift as well. If your child sees a food box with Ben 10 Ultimate Alien on it for example, then they may think that they are getting a Ben 10 gift inside of the box. This is usually the case when it comes to cereal or snacks. You can use this to your advantage and say that your child is only allowed to look for a toy if they finish their breakfast or whatever other meal they are eating.
Of course, not all of the healthy foods out there are going to come with cartoons on the box, and so this is not a method you can rely on alone. You will also need to look for ways to bring more fruits and vegetables to your child’s plate. You can disguise vegetables in food. This is something a lot of parents do by cutting them up really small. You can find lots of recipes online with secret vegetables, which is definitely a great resource for most parents.
If you are looking for a new and innovative way to try and get your children to eat certain foods then you should definitely look out for food that comes in cartoon package. To an adult this may seem like a waste of money. However, when it comes to children, cartoon based food breeds excitement and fun and therefore gives you the best possible chance of getting your children to eat.
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