Kids Eating Veggies

24 years ago

My daughter loves veggies. Lucky, yes - my son isn't so inclined, but we do what we can. :) So, you'd think that a veggie garden and my dear 6 year old would go well together, but not so.

She loves seeing the plants grow. She is especially enamored with lettuce. I have two big containers of iceberg lettuce next to the deck, and she's constantly picking off leaves and eating them. I have bibb and romaine in the veggie bed, and it's fenced in, so she's always bugging me to let her in to pick some leaves to eat.

But she won't eat anything else I grow! Last summer I had strawberries, tomatoes, beans, potatoes, zucchini, and peas. I'd serve them at dinner, and she'd be eager. She'd ask, "did this come from our garden?" and I said yes. Suddenly she'd push it away and say "yuck!" What on earth is this child thinking? Veggies from the garden are somehow inferior to those sold at the grocery?

--Pam

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Comments (5)

babzclare
24 years ago
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!Sorry, i happen to remember when my siblings and i were kids and we did the same thing over my dad's vegetables. I didn't realize then what I know now-what great stuff he grew. I would not make a big deal out of it, my son does that with most food in general and I think it's just a kid thing. I thank him for at least trying something. We are growing orange peppers(his favorite color)and I can't wait to see if he really eats them. I'll keep you posted : )
mikie_gw
24 years ago
my daughter wouldn't eat veggies .
untill we sq/ft gardened together .

She had a good time walking between plants and picking stuff we couldn't reach & really loved cherry tomato fights , squirting each other with the hose & citrus seed spitting contests. (mom didnt appreciate some of our antics and maybe that grew her interests in veggies.)

pretty soon she would even eat store bought veggies.
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totalchaos
24 years ago
My eldest turned 6 last week and this sounds just like her. She could be concerned about the veggies' feelings and might be feeling a bit canabilistic after tending the garden. Sounds crazy but we're not 6.
caitzs
24 years ago
Did she help you grow and harvest them? Part of the fun of vegetables is the growing part too. Picking them right off the plant can solidify the connection between the "fun" of growing them and eating "yucky" vegetables, making eating them more fun too. If she doesn't do the work of sowing, growing, and harvesting, there is no difference in her mind between store-bought and home-grown veggies.
pkock
Original Author
24 years ago
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. I think totalchaos was close to the truth of it - ripping out a carrot you've watched grow up seems a bit like "harvesting" a pet chicken to a 6 year old. :)

Another problem is that sometimes I have trouble with certain crops tasting right, harvesting them at the right time. By the time my lettuce got to a decent size this year, it was too bitter to eat. And there's the bug issue - grocery store produce doesn't have bugs on it, and my garden often does. (I garden organically).

I think she's caught on, though. She's been raiding the peas when I'm not looking - ever since I showed her how yummy they are fresh-picked, I've found a lot of empty pods. :)

--Pam