All in Parenting Strategies
Some people ask me why I care so much about vegetables. Admittedly, only a small part of it is related to nutrition.... Ignoring the health benefits, most of my rationale for making vegetables mandatory in our household is that twice a day, every single day, face to face, I get to help my kids learn to control their behavior.
When my oldest son was 15 months old, one day he arbitrarily and instantaneously decided that he hated anything green. Green beans, peas, asparagus, lettuce, broccoli, spinach....
Children are simple creatures. By my observation (both as a mother and as a pediatrician), kids' behavior is most dramatically shaped by two factors:
- The actions of those immediately around them, and
- A desire for praise and affirmation....
