My(17) parents have been worried about my little sister for a while now, since she refuses to eat fruits and vegetables. They’ve asked me and my brother(22) if we can come up with some ideas.
I don’t even know how I got this idea. It just came to me. What I did was take her to a zoo with this elephant feeding experience. Fed a couple of elephants some bananas in front of her and then told her to look at how enthusiastically they devour the stuff. Said ‘That must mean it’s delicious, right?’
Somehow it worked. The next day she tried a banana and admitted that it’s not bad. No other fruits yet, but still. My brother doesn’t approve though. When he found out, he said I basically tricked our sister and that it’s not right to play ‘this sort of games with children.’
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My(17) parents have been worried about my little sister for a while now, since she refuses to eat fruits and vegetables. They’ve asked me and my brother(22) if we can come up with some ideas.
I don’t even know how I got this idea. It just came to me. What I did was take her to a zoo with this elephant feeding experience. Fed a couple of elephants some bananas in front of her and then told her to look at how enthusiastically they devour the stuff. Said ‘That must mean it’s delicious, right?’
Somehow it worked. The next day she tried a banana and admitted that it’s not bad. No other fruits yet, but still. My brother doesn’t approve though. When he found out, he said I basically tricked our sister and that it’s not right to play ‘this sort of games with children.’
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I might be the asshole since what I did was essentially tricked our sister/play a mind game with her.
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Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.
Whatever works, NTA and a great idea!
I can’t see how anyone could possibly have a problem with this. Nta, obviously
Doesn’t seem like a trick to me. The elephant likes bananas so your sister gave them a chance. Seems appropriate He’s just upset that he didn’t think of it first.
May you continue to come up with clever ideas to get her to eat her fruits and veggies, it’s important. NTA
your brother wishes he had come up with the idea and is being a loser
I don’t see how that’s “tricking her” – you showed her a situation where a creature appreciated fruits and she decided to try it herself. No one forced her, which is the right scenario to avoid to make someone comfortable with trying new foods. Very inventive and absolutely NTA .
NTA. There was absolutely nothing wrong with your solution. Nice job!
All I do all days is trick my children into doing things they don’t think they want to. Your brother is a moron.
NTA… It’s unusual method, but it worked and if your little sister ate fruit eventually then it’s a success…
NTA
Clearly your brother hasn’t read enough Calvin and Hobbes.
Also, classic family story. We were visiting my grandparents in Kentucky when we were younger, and my grandma made fried chicken. My sister said she only liked KFC chicken. My grandma said that since they were in Kentucky, this was KFC chicken.
It worked, and my sister ate it with no more complaints.
Your brother is an idiot. You’ll have to update us when he has children because I’ll bet his attitude will definitely change. Sometimes we have to be sneaky, but it’s for a good cause. Jerry Seinfeld’s wife wrote a book/cookbook about how snuck vegetables into foods to make sure her kids got the nutrients they needed. Good for you for coming up with a way to get her to try something new!!
NTA
how is this tricking her? You showed her a contact in which fruit was appreciated and she decided to try it. And as a kid if she decided to try it because she thought this might be good, or if she decided to try because she now wants to be an elephant, it’s all the same. She’s a kid. And now she’s a kid who eat eats banana bananas
As a mother of 5 I approve of this method. Whatever it takes to get them to eat the veggies, although your parents dropped the ball when she was younger on this issue. You are NTA for making it work. Smoothies are also a way to get them in order!
How exactly are you tricking her? Like I would legit ask him that. Tricking is making ice cream but using banana instead of cream and eggs…
NTA
NTA
You took your sister on a fun outing that she’ll probably remember as a fun day with her sibling….the eating fruit part is just an added bonus. If this is a “trick” or a “mind game” it was a fun one that was harmless.
That’s not a trick, that’s creative sibling magic. You didn’t lie, manipulate, or force anything. You showed her a banana-eating elephant and let her make her own call
NTA. Sorry, but a good part of parenting toung kids is ‘tricking’ them into doing stuff that’s good for them that they don’t want to.
Good job on it and NTAH, I’ve puréed veg and put them in meals and the kids never knew
Kids will copy what they see others doing.
He’s just mad he didn’t think of it first.
That’s the best way to get kids to do anything, monkey see, monkey do. And this particular thing worked amazing, as the elephants loved the fruit, so she would be willing to try it. As she said: If they love it, it can’t be that bad
And what did your brother do?
Nothing.
Your brother is stupid.
NTA
My best friend hates fruit. Now at 60 she is suffering badly from vitamin deficiencies and has to get infusions and has not yet recovered. Your brother sucks.
NTA
That’s insanity. It got her to try a banana and it might open her up to other foods. Your brothers pissed he didn’t think of it
NTA. Honestly, that’s pretty kick ass out-of-the-box thinking. Great job!
NTA. It is an age old trick that not only works on children but works on pets. My bird will eat a vegetable as long as I eat it. Also there are cookbooks that show how to hide vegetables into foods that kids will eat.
NTA I blend extra veggies into a lot of different meals for my husband and daughter both. Whatever you have to do to get her to eat healthy, you do it.
Honestly I’ve been struggling to get my 2 yr old to eat healthy foods I’m borrowing this idea it’s GENIUS!! Thank you kind internet stranger.
Your brother is jealous. Honestly, logic doesn’t usually work with tiny kids. Whatever works, just go with it.
Is your brother slow
How is that even a problem? You get your kids to eat things that are good for them, by hook or by crook! Or in your case with a cute elephant interaction that no one in their right mind would argue with.
NTA this is the cutest thing in the world. Kids need silliness, games, and novelty. Our typical response can be to just put demands on them, but kids perceive that as work/something to avoid. You did an amazing job, and it sounds like your parents are either really old school, or jealous that you thought of this
NTA. You got creative. It worked. No one was harmed or forced. Well done!
That’s exactly the kind of creative thinking that’s necessary to get children to acclimate to good habits. You did an amazing job! And it’s obvious how much you love your sister. 💙
Also: Smoothies! NTA, good idea.
NTA, that’s not a trick. The Elephants do love bananas because bananas are delicious, and she tried them and agreed. No trickery, pure honesty.
You might want to find funny videos online of other animals eating different kinds fruit and see if you can broaden the menu.
If it works it works. I think your brother is jealous that you found a solution before he did.
NTA, sorry but your brother doesn’t know how raising a kid works, sometimes you gotta do that stuff, it’s not tricking them, it’s convincing them.
As the parent of a child with ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder) what you did was incredibly kind, wise and intuitive. You eased your sister’s anxiety about bananas by very gently and indirectly exposing her to them and putting the control in her hands. Well done. Your brother is wrong. NTA.
Sounds like your brother is pissed he didn’t think of it and didn’t actually think you’d succeed where they failed.
Maybe show her some hippos eating watermelon next. And the fox fruit bats going to town on strawberries
NTA, you’re a cool uncle.
NTA At all!! This is a perfect thing to do with children since they copy to learn. Its a cute interaction that led to a healthy experience.
NTA. totally makes sense to me, would have worked with my nephew but he’s always loved fruit. They had rabbits, so he already saw animals go nuts for a few blueberries daily
Next give a horse an apple. Kids do things when they see others like it. Swimming, bike riding, sports… take her through the vegetable section at a supermarket. Show her what everyone is buying and tell her how good those things taste if prepared correctly.
The only way you’d be an asshole in this situation is if the banana was laced with drugs or she didn’t want it and you stuffed it in her mouth anyway.
What you did is a common technique for encouraging children to adopt healthy behaviors and try new things that are good for them.
NTA
NTA, as long as you’re not hurting anyone, there’s no problem. your brother is weird. the kid needs to eat.
NTA This is actually pretty damn smart.