What to do for children who don't eat vegetables?

In children who don't eat vegetables, the most effective approach is to offer repeatedly and in different ways rather than forcing. A child typically needs 10-15 exposures to accept a new taste—this isn't rejection but a recognition process.

You can present vegetables as purees, soups, shredded in meatballs, as roasted sticks, or hidden in sauces with different textures. Allowing your child to put vegetables on their own plate, touch them, and smell them is more effective than insisting they eat. Having your child watch you enjoying the same vegetables on your plate is the most powerful form of modeling.

However, a child's nutrition shouldn't be evaluated only by vegetables—fruits, legumes, and whole grains are also important vitamin and fiber sources. If your child won't eat any vegetables but enjoys fruit, lentil soup, chickpeas, and similar foods, nutrition isn't considered completely unbalanced.

If vegetable rejection lasts more than 2 weeks, weight gain slows, or your child becomes noticeably limited to one type of food (just pasta and rice), I recommend consulting a pediatrician or child nutrition specialist.