I'm A Paediatrician And This Parent's Advice For Mealtimes Is *Chef's Kiss*

It doesn’t matter how much your baby tolerates veggies during those initial months of weaning, as soon as they hit the toddler years they all seem to be gripped by this sudden urge to propel anything green onto the floor...

Or, if you’re really lucky, right into your face.

This dinner-time drama is not exactly ideal when you’re trying to encourage a healthy balanced diet. So what’s a burnt out parent who simply wants their kid to eat anything other than beige to do?

Paediatrician Dr Lauren Hughes shared some helpful advice she’d received from a fellow parent – and it all starts in those first few months of weaning. 

“Put parsley on everything starting when they’re young so then they won’t be freaked out by green specks,” said Dr Hughes, who branded the tip “genius”.

“It’s not often that an Instagram comment will ever make it into my anticipatory guidance with patients, except this one – that is 10 out of 10 parenting advice,” she said. 

The advice came from Chantal Morin, a parent and Miami-based realtor, who commented on Dr Hughes’ post: “Happy I could be of service.”

Parsley contains fibre in addition to calcium, folate, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and K, according to Solid Starts. So it’s certainly worth adding it to meals where you can. 

If you don’t want to use it, you could also try finely chopped basil, oregano, thyme or rosemary.

Does this trick actually work?

Well, sometimes. 

One parent shared in the comments section: “We call them ‘herb sprinkles’ in our house! We love sprinkles on all our food! Pepper sprinkles, granola sprinkles, cheese sprinkles, we just say everything is sprinkles and they are sold.

“I started when they were really little and they don’t know any different.”

Another parent added: “I make spinach powder and put it on almost everything my son eats! Pizza, pasta, garlic bread, oats, etc etc etc!!!”

But some kids didn’t quite get the memo that the green stuff is to be trusted.

“We do this but my kid still won’t eat other green things,” said one parent. 

Another said: “Ha! Doesn’t work. I did this with all herbs and veggies and my daughter ate anything and everything until 1.5 years old and won’t touch anything green except avocados and very few veg.”

If it doesn’t work for you, studies suggest it’s best to try and take a laidback approach when it comes to your child rejecting certain foods – although we know it’s easier said than done.