8 Yr Old and No Eating His Veggies

My kids like some veggies and detest others. My daughter loves cooked broccoli, but hates it raw. My son loves raw pea pods, but hates cooked peas. I guess ask him what he likes and dislikes. Maybe he likes raw carrots dipped in ranch. My daughter wasn't big into green peppers (which I put into almost everything) until I explained that I was doing it because they are high in iron. Iron makes you not so tired and I'm not a big fan of liver (which I had on the dinner table at time of explanation). I told her we could eat liver once a week or we could eat veggies with iron in them. Her choice. She started eating them, and now snacks on them on her own. Good luck!

First of all, I am very impressed with your boy. It takes a lot of guts and creativity to try to flush veggies down the toilet. lol
There is a cookbook called "The Sneaky Chef" She has recipes that add vegetables in a way that kids are hard pressed to resist them (ie cauliflower in the mashed potatoes) I haven't actually used her stuff because I've lucked out in that department, but I have had friends who have great success with it.
Dinnertime is suppose to be a time for family to enjoy each other's company and reflect on the day (well, hopefuly it is), If you're fighting the whole time, it just kind of ruins that. Good luck.

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I would not fight this battle myself. Find veggies that he likes, even one, and serve it a lot, then make him take one bit of the rest each time you serve them. It will improve much sooner if you do it this way. It may NEVER improve if you make it a battle of his will against yours. You do not want to extend this any longer than it typically lasts do you? By age 12 to 13, he will be trying all kinds of things, and you will be surprised at what he starts to like. That is not so far off, get him a multi vitamin, serve a lot of the healthy stuff he will eat, and make sure he is not filling up on junk to compensate.

Worked at my house...my pickiest eater now eats brussle sprouts, edemame, sugar snap peas, and spinich and packs them all in her own lunch...the only green thing she ate willingly at 8 was jello.

M.

I know how you feel...I learned somewhere that the way our taste buds work, it can take up to 11 times for them to try something before our body begins to accept it and most times..like it..you have to be persistent and consistent-everyday-easier said than done, but it worked for me-I introduced green beans 7x in seven days to my son before he wouldn't refuse to eat it, but it worked! it has to be the same vegetable and once he accepts it you move on to the next-hope this helps!

Why does he HAVE to eat them? Don't make meals ( and food) a battleground or you are going to discover some really serious issues with your children as they get older. There is already such awful pressure on our young adults to "look" a certain way....it is no wonder that we have such issues with bulemia and other disorders.
There are ways to get veggies into your children's diets without making at a major battle. How about making a smoothie for them for breakfast, or as a evening snack? You can "sneak" all sorts of things in there without them realizing it. Here is a webpage I found that might be helpful
http://flowercarole.com/vegetable_smoothie_recipes.htm
Offer raw veggies with a little bit of ranch dressing or a yogurt dip after school. Learn what he LIKES and go with it!!! Offer a variety of veggies, cooked in a variety of ways and if he eats them fine, if he doesn't that is fine too. I always told our children that they needed to try ONE BITE of each thing on their plate, how are they going to know if they like something if they never TRY it.
Just don't force him to eat anything...it is a battle that you won't win and HE will end up being the real loser!!

This is a battle worth fighting. Eating vegetables is what gives our bodies the fuel and the nutrients it needs to fight off and prevent infections and viruses. A person will never look or feel good if they don't eat them. Vegetables are NOT optional. Bread is optional 99% of the time. Meat is optional 100% of the time (even though I love meat). We were designed to eat a large variety of fruit and vegetables.

BUT, it can be a good experience much of the time. I am a fan of finding ways we like them. Most kids like spaghetti. You can put a lot of vegetables in spaghetti sauce. Many kids like cheese over their veggies. And of course the ranch dressing is a great suggestion.

You can also make squash and carrots into breads. I put all kinds of squash and or carrots into my waffles. I've never seen a kid refuse to eat waffles.....well, I actually know one that wouldn't :) But that's so very rare.

It is our job to care for our children and we need to do whatever it takes to teach them how to care for themselves. I've actually read on various dieting boards around the net that many grown ups hate vegetables. How does a person expect to be healthy living on deep fat fried french fries and bread of all kinds? WEIRD.

Do you all sit at the table together to eat? Maybe watch him actually eat them. We told our kids that they don't have to like a food, but they have to try it. Keep offering the veggies. If you cater to him, he will become a pickier eater. My friend's son is 12 and only eats a handful of foods - 1 veggie, 1 meat, only spaghetti shaped pasta with butter, etc. Maybe try offering the foods prepared different ways. Green beans can be steamed, or cooked with garlic and lemon, etc. Making vegetable lasagne has lots of yummy veggies in it, and they can't really taste one over the other with the cheese and sauce. Be creative, but persistent!

Hm, this sounds an awful lot like my little brother growing up, lots of dinnertime drama! What ended up helping was involving him in meal planning. You lay out the parameters start easy with say 2 veg and one fruit on a shopping trip, his choice. He picks it he eats it.

As others have noted sometimes its not the vegetable itself a kid objects to but how it is prepared. My brother also had to help 'cook' the ones he chose. If he was lazy he had to eat it raw but if he wanted to make an effort or explore a new fruit my mom would help him find a recipe. Probably this was also about getting some one on one time with mom now that I think on it from a new perspective!