Story Time

Learn about foods and recipes from around the world, including what children in different cultures eat. Read about food-based professions such as bakers, farmers and chefs. Watch cooking shows and videos with your kids about cooking and food prep.

Scrumptious Smells

Smell is a significant and sometimes forgotten part of the eating experience. Playing games to positively engage with food smells outside of mealtimes can demystify the experience. Use spice jars to guess scents. Or add vanilla extract to bubbles before blowing them outside. These non-eating activities will build happy associations with new smells before you use them in recipes.

Unleash the Artist

Make art projects using food. Use fruit to make stamps: halved strawberries make heart-shaped stamps, and halved apples are star-shaped. Use a string to make garlands or jewelry from uncooked pasta, popcorn or cranberries. (Popcorn and chunks of food can be choking hazards in young children.)

Flip the Script

Do you find yourself telling friends and family, “My child is a picky eater”? Train yourself to use hopeful language instead: “My child is learning to love new things.” Instead of “He doesn’t like it,” say, “He hasn’t had it enough times.” Using positive statements will validate your child’s feelings in your mind while recognizing that opinions can change.

Sort by Color

Chop brightly colored fruits and vegetables such as red cherry tomatoes, green kiwis and purple grapes into small pieces. Practice sorting them by color while saying the color aloud. This can cultivate an acceptance of new textures by allowing your child to focus on the game rather than on his or her discomfort with new foods. As with popcorn and apples, be aware that whole cherry tomatoes and grapes are considered choking hazards in young children.

Name It

Which do you think your child would rather eat: steamed carrots or X-Ray Vision Coins? In the same way that descriptions on restaurant menus can influence what you order, creative names in the kitchen or cafeteria can pique a child’s interest.

Shine the Spotlight

Many kids love being the star, so use that instinct to explore new foods. Take videos of your child speaking to his or her ideal audience — a younger sibling, a stuffed animal, a favorite superhero — about trying new foods.

Get in the Garden

A garden not only improves children’s knowledge of produce, it increases their consumption of fruits and vegetables. From flipping through seed catalogs in the winter, to starting seeds in the spring, to weeding and harvesting all summer long, gardens can be joyful and patient teachers.