Do you have to bribe your kids to eat healthy?

In a new online poll conducted by the Irish Heart Foundation, 80% of parents admitted it was hard to get their children to eat at mealtimes, with nearly a quarter of parents having to bribe their children to eat their dinner.

The Irish Heart Foundation’s annual September Heart Month is focusing on ‘Healthy Meals Without The Drama’, to help time-strapped parents in Leitrim cook meals their children will actually eat, supported by practical tips to reduce tension in tricky mealtime situations, as well as essential tips on healthy eating.

Keeping children healthy is the number one priority, and yet a recent poll conducted by the Irish Heart Foundation of parents of 5 to 12-year-olds, found that 78% of parents are concerned that their child’s diet is not healthy and that only 1 in 5 children would choose fruit as a snack.

This September the Irish Heart Foundation is here to ‘Stop The Drama’ for parents with their toolkit of healthy eating and behaviour tips, snack ideas and family-friendly recipes to make heart-healthy meals easier for parents and yummier for kids.

Irish Heart Foundation tips to reduce drama at mealtimes:

    1. It’s not a war – ‘No’ is often an attempt to get attention, so don’t panic!
    2. Shopping strategies – only buy the food you want them to eat.
    3. Food is not a reward – when they are hungry, try offering them healthy snacks.
    4. Food is not a bribe – offering the promise of sweets after eating dinner sets children up to view sweets as a ‘prize’.
    5. The Do’s and Don’ts of mealtimes – always praise your children for trying something new!
    6. Trying (and retrying) new foods – it can take up to 10 times for children to try something new – keep offering it.
    7. Peer pressure works! – invite a friend with a big appetite to join for dinner...
    8. Knowing when they’re full – helping your child know when they’re full helps them regulate their own appetite.
    9. Staying calm and relaxed – keep mealtimes as relaxed as possible, and always away from the TV!
    10. Know the triggers! – look for the pattern to why your child looks for unhealthy food.

The Irish Heart Foundation has produced a 24-page magazine filled with ‘taste-tested’ heart-healthy recipes, ‘approved as tasty’ by children and ‘approved as healthy’ by parents.