You’ve probably seen those “10 Ways to Raise Healthy Eaters” and “8 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Veggies” lists advertised on the covers of parenting magazines. One thing seems to invariably make every list: gardening. Common wisdom dictates that kids are more apt to eat their veggies if they see how much slugs and grasshoppers enjoy them, and it’s even better if they learn to wield a water canister and pick a few weeds too. That sounds perfect to me, since I need all the help I can get in the garden. But I’ve wondered, is it actually true?
During my son’s first year, he devoured soupy, squishy vegetable concoctions that didn’t look appetizing even to me, and I love veggies. He gobbled up squash, spinach, beets, carrots, green beans, and cauliflower. In my naive new parental state I was thankful that I’d somehow dodged the picky-eating issues and could get a head start on agonizing about the piercings and tattoos he’d get during his teenage years.
Then my son turned one.
Suddenly he developed keen vegetable detection skills rivaling the U.S. Geological Service’s earthquake detection system. He picked out the bits of spinach in an omelet, scowled at the green peppers on a piece of pizza, and pushed the vegetable soup away before trying it, proclaiming, “All done”. What was going on? Had he somehow sensed that his dad and I found pureed greens distasteful? Had the piece of chocolate cake he’d smeared on his face on his first birthday ruined his proclivity for vegetables forever?
One study suggests that toddlers might simply be hard-wired to spurn their greens. Kids with a “bitter-sensitive allele (P) on the TAS2R38 receptor gene” – supposedly about 80% of kids – are acutely sensitive to bitter tastes, and thus naturally tend to prefer sweet things. Perhaps my son had been condemned by his genes to eat broccoli only when smothered in cheese, hidden in muffins, or prepared in the other ways the aforementioned lists advise weary parents to sneak greens into veggie-spurning kids.
Of course, this hasn’t stopped me from making the little fellow toil in the garden. He’s only two, but he holds the hose and helps pick weeds. He can’t yet tease out the difference between bindweed and spinach, so he often hears, “No, no, no, not that one.” But he doesn’t seem to mind.
And imagine my delight when we trudged out to water the garden one morning and he squealed, “peas” then proceeded to identify all the other vegetables in our raised beds. Of course, he wasn’t particularly interested in ingesting any of them, but at least he was learning some new words.
Then an astonishing thing happened. I was lounging on the porch on a scorching afternoon recently eating snap peas and dreaming of rain deluges, and my son, who asks for a cookie within 45 minutes of waking most mornings, ran up to me, held out his hand, and said, “Pea please.” I was sure I’d misunderstood, but I handed him one anyway, hoping the nutrients might absorb through his skin. Then he ate it … and asked for another. And he’s been gobbling down peas ever since.
Now, I’m not sure that watering peas is what made him develop a palate for peas. This is most likely just like every other thing involved in parenting a toddler: maddeningly unpredictable. But at least one study suggests that older kids who garden are more likely to choose fruit and vegetable snacks. Fourth to sixth graders participating in garden-based activities at a YMCA summer camp for 12 weeks asked for and ate more fruits and vegetables after the program. Moreover a full 95.6% of them reported that they enjoyed working in the garden.
As school gardens become more common, I’m sure we’ll see many more studies in the next few years. But I’m already sold. It doesn’t hurt that I have a helper to carry my watering can and spade.
What do you think? Do you garden with your kids? Does it make them more keen on eating greens?
This is so great! I teach environemental education in a fairly rural community, and recently did an activity where I brought in vegetables for kindergartens to try and told them about which body parts the vegetables helped stay healthy. I couldn’t believe how excited they were to eat the vegetables, and how adamant they were that you couldn’t just eat sweets and candy but needed fruits and vegetables too. In kindergarten!
I was wondering if it had something to do with the fact that a lot of the kids probably have gardens at home. It was really interesting to see!
Thanks for the great post.
I’ve gardened with my kiddos for years but we’ve always just made them eat their greens (yep, we’re those kind of parents). I do not run a restaurant. What I cook is what is available to eat.
When they were little we gave them very small amounts. We eat so many vegetables it’s hard for them to avoid them in our house and I’ve never hidden them. But we do give them the option of choosing out one vegetable from the meal they don’t have to eat. My son absolutely disdains tomatoes for example. Can’t stand the seeds. At 11, 9 & 7 they are fabulous eaters.
Of course they’ll choose to eat ice cream if possible but they do not spurn healthy vegetables and our oldest prefers them to kid favorites such as mac n’ cheese.
It doesn’t surprise me that your son likes peas – those are a rather sweet vegetable and so crunchy delicious.
Oh! Your peas are pretty!
I think the “gardening makes kids eat veggies” works for most everyone, no matter what age. Since I started my vegetable garden I have eaten so much spinach, which I would never touch before. And I snack on onion tops while reading outside. People always think I’m eating grass, though!
The kids in my early childhood program daily beg for chives from the herb garden, as well as mint. They consider it a treat, and gobble it while they’re out there until they exude onion scent, though they may say they “hate” onions if they hear they’re an ingredient in something. Peas and cherry tomatoes never make it into the house; they’re all gobbled in the garden. And they all drink green smoothies using ingredients we forage or pick from the garden: dandelion, Good King Henry, sorrell, chard, kale, whatever. I think it makes a big difference to see where the food comes from and to be a part in its making.
I would agree with Renee that snap peas are probably one of the sweeter (if not THE sweetest) and most fun vegetables to eat. That also makes sense considering your comment about being bitter-sensitive. My three and four-year-olds won’t eat every vegetable, but always gobble up the peas within minutes of purchase. Hooray for peas!
A friend of mine planted a garden after her pediatrician recommended it as way to get her toddler to eat more vegetables – I think it is working so far. and I’m glad to hear that doctors are giving such sensible advice!
This reminds me of my nephew, another two year old gardener 🙂
We have had good luck getting the kids to eat vegetables from the garden that they help plant, water, pick, and wash, although we have had some scares with our little one grazing on things that we did not see him pick. Luckily nothing dangerous so far.
It seems to work the opposite with meat though. When my daughter made the connection between the turkey that was running around the yard and thanksgiving dinner last year she was not interested at all!
I do think there is something deep and wonderful about kids in the garden. I see my little person happy as can be to eat anything that she can pick herself. We’re lucky to have neighbor’s with gardens and a preschool with a garden so she gets a wider variety than my beginning garden attempts can give her. I’ve been wowed by her eating radishes and kale and going to town on arugula.
I don’t have children, but I’ve read a couple of different articles about school yard gardens and I just can’t see how that isn’t a win win situation. Loved this article!
great post. it’s funny how elated you feel when your child eats vegetables! i just can’t help it (not that it happens very often here). i think it’s best to just keep offering them regularly through the finicky toddler/preschool years and then maybe they’ll just start eating them at some point. i have a feeling the the familiarity must eventually make them seem more appealing. i remember reading about an inner-city teacher who wanted to introduce his students to gardening and they were completely astonished and grossed-out to see the carrots pulled from the earth and refused to eat them because they were “dirty” in their minds even after being washed. it definitely made me think that the more exposure kids have to vegetable gardening throughout life the more likely they will be to welcome the foods. these kids were older and it was the first time they had ever been shown where vegetables come from.
Abby- You Are A GREAT Mom! 🙂 I, 48, going on 2, hated peas – until I was able to not only be in charge of my own garden/preserving/processing activities – but also allowed to snack while I worked – I eat peas all the time, now (weeellll…. at least during growing season…..and in dried soup mixes, used come winter…. 🙂 I’m with the kiddo – they taste best when you can sit down, in the magical garden and snack while ya work – 🙂
My daughter grew up with gardens. One of her favorite lunches was when I gave her a little basket and asked her to go out in the garden and get us some lunch! She always wanted to eat everything she brought back. Sometimes she would eat as she went along. I’d see her little garden hat poking up from the tomatoes, and a few minutes later she’d be in the green beans. I think the most time was spent in the strawberries. Eventually she wanted to create her own little garden. I gave her a small corner all her own and let her grow whatever she wanted. The watermelons were a lesson in how nature works (or doesn’t) but she grew the best bok choy ever and loved eating it! I do believe her garden experiences had a lot to do with her diverse palette. She is now an awesome cook and and is always trying new healthy things for her family. BTW your peas look divine!