Science Daily posted an article earlier this summer confirming that if you want to teach kids to appreciate good food they are more likely to do so if they are invested in the production. While most children like fruit, vegetables can be a tougher sell. However, the study shows that kids that are frequently involved in preparing them have a greater taste for them.  Hooray! That means all those kitchen chores really are for their own good- right?

Honestly, though do what works for you and little people that you hang out with. I am still working on getting them involved in cooking regularly, since they are still a bit young for many tasks, but I willingly delegate things that they can do like slicing or grating cheese, washing produce or assembling sandwiches. Another thing that works for us, and often also born of necessity, I pack  mine in the car to the farmer’s market regularly and ask them to help select our weekly produce, knowing that when they have a say and hand in what is selected and prepared, they feel more invested and are more likely to try it. Plus, it is so fantastic when I make a good sell on something and then announce to my seven year old that he has to try it, then he concurs and inisists on his dad and sister trying the same. I’m all about the positive peer pressure. And while I don’t always have everyone on my side, it is nice to be reminded how to work things in my favor.

Has this rung true for you also? What has worked for you?