Your child is plugged into the electronic world in a big way. While this can definitely be a negative, leading to a sedentary lifestyle, it can also help teach your child about the benefits of fruits and vegetables as part of a healthy lifestyle. You can alternately go "old-school" and introduce your child to fruits and veggies as part of a hands-on learning process. Both of those methods are recommended. Here's why.
Kids love getting outdoors. But they also enjoy consuming video and audio on smartphones, tablets, MP3 players and computers. So when you employ both of these methods in an effort to get your child fired up about vegetables and fruits, you stand a better chance of success.
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Get Your Child Out Into a Physical Garden
If you don't grow your own produce, find someone that does. Local farmers, community gardening clubs and perhaps even your own neighbors will usually be happy to give you and your child a hands-on experience and education about growing fruits and vegetables. The entire seed-to-harvest process can be shown, touched, smelled and even tasted. Promote encouragement by telling your children that this is the acceptable way for them to get dirty.
If you do not have access to a fruits and vegetables garden, head to the supermarket. Schedule a "Supermarket Fun Day" to promote eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. Make a game of finding 5 different vegetables and fruits in each of the 5 main color groups. Let your child see, touch and smell the many different types of produce, and tell them the health benefits of each one. (This exercise will help make you smarter about why you should be eating veggies and fruits as well.)
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There's an App For That
Nothing can beat real world examples which involve all 5 senses for teaching any kind of lesson. But your child is a technologically-inclined human being. Why not cater to this inclination? The list of applications and games which teach the nutritional benefits and the growing process of fruits and vegetables is nearly endless. Here are a few to consider:
FoodChamps.org
Nicolas’ Garden (actually designed by an 8 year old)
The Prisoner of Carrot Castle
Fooducate
Food Truth
Awesome Eats
Eat-And-Move-O-Matic
Max’s Plate
Fruits and Vegetables for Kids
These games and applications are free and available for most mobile operating systems. They make learning about vegetables and fruits a game that your kids want to play all the time.
Just remember to start young. Children develop their unique personality between the ages of 1 and 4. They are absorbing everything, even when you do not realize it. So start the fruits and vegetables education early for a lifetime of healthy nutrition.
