It’s no secret that I’m a huge advocate of encouraging children to enjoy a variety of foods. ESPECIALLY helping them learn to love their veggies right from the very start!
I’m really excited to partner with the See & Eat project, funded by EIT food. They have created some brilliant resources for parents to use with their children to help them become familiar with and accepting of vegetables.
See & Eat Resources:
These resources include flash cards, e-books and games. Lots of activities all focused around helping kids to know and learn to love their veg. They have all been developed based on research that showed that visual familiarity – namely in the form of picture books. Increasing the likelihood of children eating vegetables they hadn’t tried or liked before.
These are a great tool for any parent, and offer a variety of options to incorporate into mealtimes at home. They are also great for everyday family activities. To help with play and development all the while increasing a little one’s interest in foods.
I love the concept of using these kind of activities as a positive way to help increase familiarity. Also to teach toddlers and children all about the foods they’re eating. I talk a lot about mealtime environments and making mealtimes as enjoyable as possible. Particularly for parents struggling with fussy eating or food refusal.
See & Eat eBooks
There are 24 different interactive eBooks which each focus on a different vegetable. You can download the eBooks through the See and Eat website here. You can also download the “Our Story 2” app for both Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. Where you can view and personalise the eBooks using audio, video and pictures. Great for making these resources really interactive.
Other Resources
You can also check out all of the other wonderful resources here. Which include a flash card game, a guess-the-vegetable activity and instructions on how to grow your own cress. Also shopping lists to involve children when choosing vegetables during the weekly shop. The activities they have are all supported by research and are focused around the following concepts:
- Show: Pictures and visual aids are a great way to help fussy eaters feel more comfortable about some foods and may make them more likely to taste them. Try the flash cards or memory games from See & Eat as a fun activity with your little ones
- Grow: Growing vegetables or herbs at home can be a really fun learning activity that also helps to increase familiarity of foods
- Shop: Shopping can be a real minefield with all sorts of products for your little one to get distracted by but it’s also a great opportunity to learn about new vegetables together – try the See & Eat shopping list to help your little one be involved in the shopping
- Explore: I often get parents worried about their little ones not taking in much food during mealtimes, especially when starting weaning. I always try to encourage that even if they’re playing with foods – using all of their senses (vision, touch, smell & sound) helps to increase familiarity and eventually they’ll start to eat more
- Cook: Getting little ones involved in preparing and cooking foods gives them the opportunity to explore and learn. Often children may be more likely to try new foods if they’ve helped to prepare the meal
- Eat: Something I ALWAYS encourage is families eating together and eating the same foods – this is a great way for little ones to learn from the rest of the family and build their interest.
Make sure to check out all of the resources and e-books on the website for more ideas!