Get Your Kids Hooked on Veggies and Fruits…Giveaway time!

I was recently presented with the opportunity to review the debut DVD from Copy-Kids Media. This company produces videos that encourage young children, ages 6months to 5 years, to adopt positive and healthy habits by watching other kids practice them. As the name implies, Copy-Kids believe in this concept “because children learn best from other children.”

My daughter is 5 years old…oops, she actually turned 6 just yesterday! (Time flies…sigh.) As a toddler she enjoyed just about any fruit or vegetable she was given. It was practically all I gave her! At around age 3, her taste buds began to prefer sweets over most food groups.  By the time she was 4 I could no longer get her to eat broccoli, once a favorite vegetable. This “phase” lasted about a year. It was a very difficult time. I could barely get her to eat any veggies at all. After watching this DVD with her last month, I am convinced that should I have had it available to me back then, this “phase” may have been  a lot shorter, or perhaps never happened at all.

Last year, one day, my daughter just decided she liked broccoli again. Slowly but surely, she went back to accepting most vegetables. However, there were still some she refused to eat…up until last month! After watching the chapters about Bell Peppers and Cucumbers on the Copy Kids Eat Fruit and Vegetables DVD, the first thing my daughter said was, “Now we have to go buy some peppers and cucumbers!” I did just that and she is now a big fan of both.

While I received this video during a time that eating healthy was no longer much of a struggle, it still benefited her. Imagine what it could do for younger children or those who are refusing to eat their fruits and veggies. As I said before, my daughter is now 6 years old. I noticed that about a year ago, she began to understand better how important it is to eat a balanced meal, along with brushing her teeth, washing her hands, etc. It’s an age thing, I believe. This video is designed for children 5 years and under. In talking to ALL of my mommy friends, it’s unanimous that most bad eating habits begin at about age 3…taste buds mature, children are introduced to a much bigger variety of foods, and the sweet tooth kicks in. Early intervention is a must….and sneaking veggies into their food should not be the answer. It is important for children, not just to be taught to eat veggies because they have to…but WHY they should eat them. More importantly though, children should be lead by example. Yes, as parents we should practice what we preach, but how much more of an impact would it make if they see their own peers practicing healthy habits? This can be difficult though, especially at such a young age when most toddlers are with grown-ups more than they are with kids their age. This is why Copy Kids is such a great idea!

The DVD was created after Cai Dixon noticed that her young daughter was more willing to try new fruits and veggies when she saw another child eating them. She liked to copy. Dixon wondered if this experience would only work in real life, or if a video would create the same effect. It did! Dixon’s daughter asked for raw broccoli after seeing another child eat it on TV.  This type of thing did not just happen with her own daughter…and so the concept was born!  Director Malona Badelt learned about the project and fell in love with the idea immediately, asking to direct it. The DVD was selected as one of the 10 Best Audio/Visuals for 2011 by Stevanne Auerbach, PhD./Dr. Toy. It has also received Children’s Excellence awards from MACT and Parent Tested, Parent Approved. It was approved by the USDA and added to their Education and Training Materials Database for pre-school nutrition too! The DVD is unscripted. The honesty and candidness of the children in it add elements of surprise and comedy. It also makes it very easy for kids to connect and engage with the children in the video. My daughter got a kick out of some of the things the little ones said, specifically 3 year old Audrey who giggles a lot throughout the video. She was surprised to see several children picking up whole bell peppers and biting into them as if they were apples. For parents, the DVD also includes an interview with  renowned pediatrician Dr. Jay Gordon, MD, FAAP, author of Good Food Today, Great Kids Tomorrow. He offers great insight on childhood obesity and ways that it can be prevented. He also reiterates the notion that, “That’s just the way kids are, they love to copy other kids.”

Here is YOUR opportunity to receive your very OWN, FREE COPY OF the COPY-KIDS eat fruits and vegetables DVD. Keep if for your child(ren) or give it as a gift! Retail value of $19.95. You must be 18 years or older to enter and live in the United States. Enter daily! Contest ends on Sept. 22nd. Good luck!

To enter: CLICK HERE

To learn more about Copy-Kids, Eat Fruits and Vegetables, you can visit Copy-Kids on their Press Page, Facebook Page, Twitter Account, Pinterest Account, or on YouTube. You can also watch the trailer or purchase a DVD on their Website.

Related articles

• Copy-Kids DVD – product review (angela-mommytimeout.blogspot.com)
• Rethinking The Kid-Veggie Relationship (health.usnews.com)
• How to inspire kids to eat more veggies (news.bioscholar.com)
• Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables (sheerbalance.com)
• Copy Kids Review and Giveaway (twomischievousmonkeys.com)
• How to Increase Your Child’s Fruit and Vegetable Intake (forallwomentoknow.blogspot.com)