Shopping At The Supermarket With The Children
There is nothing that little ones like more than feeling big and important. For them it is very gratifying to be taken into account in “difficult tasks” or in “adult things”; In addition, this reinforces their self-esteem and allows them to expand their knowledge through new experiences. Shopping can be one of those activities that you can get them involved in.
If you want to get your children to improve their eating habits, perhaps taking them shopping at the supermarket is a good strategy to introduce them to new, healthier foods and discover them in a different way and through a positive experience: privileged time with mom!
Get them involved
Involving them in kitchen activities is very convenient if we want them to become familiar with meals and their preparation, which is undoubtedly appropriate for them to consider food as something natural in their daily lives.
Whenever you have the opportunity, invite your children to do the shopping with you. Let them choose in the fruit and vegetable section what they want to take home ; They generally get carried away more by the color than by the flavor, but it is valid, buy what they ask for and then invite them to join you while you cook it.
Remember that the consumption of vegetables in the daily diet is essential, according to a study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology . Introducing them during the early stages of life will make them more likely to continue their intake at later times.
Approach food in ways that are specific to them
A very simple way to introduce new foods to them is by relating them to people they know or situations that have happened, for example:
- Describe their flavor or texture, you can buy them with other similar foods.
- They always find it funny to know which animals like this or that vegetable.
- Introduce him to the favorite foods of dad, grandma, or a little friend.
- Tell them which one is your favorite and, if there is one that you really don’t like, tell them, because it is very natural that we all dislike something about food.
- Invite them to smell and touch it.
Shopping is fun
It is also valid that you assign them responsibilities during the purchase and give them the opportunity to put into practice concepts that they are learning at school, you can suggest some of the following ideas:
- Ask them to put 10 medium lemons in a bag.
- Find 3 green and 3 red tomatoes.
- Select thick and thin green beans.
- Look for long or short carrots.
It is also important to convey at this time the need to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed foods and sweets, since they have been shown to be harmful to health. Take the opportunity to explain to them which are the foods that should appear daily in the diet and which are the ones that are part of the occasional consumption.
Teach them to choose vegetables
They can select the food well, much better than you might think, it is only necessary that you show them, for example, a “good” tomato and another “bad” tomato and that you indicate that the fruits and vegetables must be without holes or broken and no bludgeoned areas.
You will see how a 4-year-old is very skillful in choosing what you assign him. Sure, save things like avocado or pineapple for later, but they’ll do very well with simpler things.
In the kitchen with mom
Cooking is something they love too, especially if you allow them to manipulate the food and get a little ‘grumpy’. You can give them a plastic knife to chop some tomatoes (that you don’t need in perfect squares, that you are going to blend, for example) or to help you with some fruits for a salad; Banana, milky, pin and mango are very easy to chop and make your own snack.
Let them knead and stir some preparations or add ingredients that you have previously measured. Cooking with children actually takes longer, but occasionally it takes nothing away, rather it adds a lot.
Stimulate their curiosity and invite them to see how food changes color and texture when cooked.
An example is the pancake mix, which is liquid at first and when cooked it becomes solid; another, raw pasta that is hard and softens when passed through hot water; the chicken is pink before putting it in the oven and then it is white.
Make predictions and guess what some bananas will look like after cooking. In short, make them open their eyes to the world through the selection and preparation of food.
To take into account when shopping
Knowing, handling and “playing” with food makes food, its names, tastes and smells a daily use for them. They will be much more likely to dare to try out of curiosity, even with a little finger.
Do not expect that the first day they already want to eat everything, if you press them about it you will probably achieve the opposite effect and they will lose all the enjoyment of shopping, the fun of cooking and the curiosity about the change in appearance of food.
The only thing we want to achieve by inviting them to shop and cook is a relaxed and novel approach to food. Only that.
