Confession time…..I have bribed my kids with all kinds of things to try to get them to eat veggies.  It’s especially hard with my daughter, who is older and was more spoiled by me.  I never made her try things she didn’t want to eat, and I never gave her foods that I didn’t personally like.  What was wrong with me?!     She won’t eat green beans, but loves edamame and artichokes.  Why?  Because they are FUN to eat.  She saw me popping edamame out of the pods, or peeling the leaves off the artichokes, and asked to taste them. It wasn’t love at first bite, but she persisted in trying these several times and now counts them as her favorites.

This is the idea behind the Copy-Kids DVD.  We received a DVD to watch and my kids were mesmerized.  Kids love to watch other kids and especially love watching other kids have fun.  Copy-Kids is kind of like watching a home movie with kids eating fresh veggies and fruit, laughing and playing while they enjoy the tasty snack.  My son (3 years old) was saying, “Mmmm” while he watched during the first two minutes.  In no time, he asked for some red peppers and snacked along.  Normally my kids aren’t allowed to eat in front of the TV, but it’s the most effective way to use the Copy-Kids video in my opinion.   We tried it with a few of the other snacks as well.  My son said he didn’t like the avocado (which he loved when he was a baby) but enjoyed the tomatoes.  Each clip is just a few minutes long and you can choose which ones you want to watch.

Most of the kids in the video are around ages 3 and 4.  My 8 year old watched along with us and even she was tempted by the red peppers.  Guess what, so was I….and I discovered that I actually like them!!  So Copy-Kids is good for grown-ups too. 🙂

Word of advice:  Make sure you have the fresh veggies/fruits on hand if you want your kids to try the new foods.  The novelty of the food, plus the desire to enjoy it along with the kids on the TV, is sure to get the best of your kids.  Don’t push too hard; if they don’t eat a lot on the first round, no big deal.  Show the video again the next day.  The main thing is to help your child start to consider these healthy food choices.  One feature I really liked about Copy-Kids is the effort that was made to include kids from all different ethnic backgrounds.  Always a plus!  I’d love to see another Copy-Kids video with more options, such as cooked veggies, mushrooms, peas, and more.  It would also be cool to have some interaction with the video, such as having the bird ask your child if they took a bite too.

You’ll have a chance to win a Copy-Kids DVD of your own this summer!

(Disclosure:  I received a copy of the video for the purposes of the review.  The statements and experiences made are my own opinions.)