5 Secrets to Make Your Child Love Healthy Food

Getting a child to eat anything that isn't sugary or fatty can seem like an impossible task; even the most succulent fruits and freshest vegetables are rejected, and before you know it, a particularly willful child will refuse to eat anything other than their favorite sweets. Parenting can often seem like an uphill struggle, especially when your child gets to infant day care age, and picky eaters get harder to cater for. Try these five secrets to getting your child to eat a wide range of healthy food:

• Hide it - There are few vegetables that cannot be pureed into a tomato sauce almost imperceptibly; poured over pasta or used on a pizza, it's an easy way to get that hated cauliflower eaten with relish.

• Play with it - If your child is fond of color and shapes, getting the whole rainbow onto their plate may work wonders. As a learning tool, fruit and vegetables are ideal, as they serve as a healthy reward.

• Bribe with it - Carrying on with the color theme, don't be afraid to resort to bribery; eat all your leafy greens for a week, and I'll buy you that cool green toy.

• More hiding, but this time in "bad" foods - You'll be familiar with carrot cake, but did you know that beetroot and zucchini are also great cake ingredients? Don't forget to let other infant day care parents in on the secret to help them with their children.

• Ignore it - Sometimes, just leaving a plate of carrot or celery sticks on the table will encourage a child to pick at them, especially if you don't mention them and they're at an age when they're testing other behavioral boundaries too.