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Health

19th May 2016

Study Finds 30,000 2-Year-Olds Have NEVER Eaten A Vegetable

Trine Jensen-Burke

If parts of your day is taken up with battles to get your toddler to eat anything green, we bet this news is going to make you feel like at least you are not alone in your struggles.

According to new research by baby food manufacturer Ella’s Kitchen it has been revealed that a whopping 30,000 two-year-olds have never, ever eaten a vegetable.

A new survey has revealed that 30,000 two-year-olds have never once eaten a vegetable. And parents spend the equivalent of a day a year trying to persuade their little darlings to let a vegetable pass their lips.

As in; never mind the five a day, these kiddos have never even eaten one little vegetable.

It was also revealed that as many as one in five toddlers regularly refuse to eat their vegetables, and that as many as 28 percent of parents spend a total of one day a year trying to persuade their children to eat their vegetables.

Let those numbers sink in, mamas, and revel in the fact that it is not just you. Your toddler is no worse than any other toddler. Thank God.

As someone who has one very veggie-shy child, I know how frustrating it can be when your toddler clamps their mouth shut, and the survey revealed how as many as one in three parents admitted to feeling nervous, deflated or confused about this very issue. And just like I have done, many resort to varying tactics in their battle to get more greens into their kids, including using the TV as a distraction and disguising vegetables by hiding them in sauces.

One of the problems, according to the researchers behind the study, could be that currently, less than 20% of babies are given vegetables as a first food. And that this is despite the fact that much evidence is pointing towards how starting weaning with vegetables help kids develop a taste this, and that this then will stay with them throughout childhood and beyond.

Is YOUR toddler tricky when it comes to vegetables and fruit? If so, how do you manage to sneak it into them? Let us know in the comments or tweet us at @Herfamilydotie