What Age Did Your Child Start Eating Salads?

My children should be eating salads??

Just kidding. Kind of. They are not much into salad, so don't eat it often. They prefer broccoli, cauliflower, carrots or peas. So that's mostly what we have at dinner.

I think it's great that his school is trying to get him to eat salads, and he might eventually try it (with Ranch dressing!) but don't worry that he isn't eating it yet. That's very normal.

This question made me laugh, only because I remember wondering the same thing when my kids were this age! They would always eat raw veggies, but never salad!

Both of my kids refused salad (and both have always been great eaters) until they were about 5 years. Now, at 6 and 7, they gobble it up.

Just sub other healthy foods and don't worry!

Good luck!

my were about 1 or 1.5yo. they LOVED it. most times i order a side salad when we go out to eat and we all pick off it. they get the cucumbers, my daughter gets the bell peppers, i get the tomatoes, and we all get the lettuce.

My kids are 2 and 3.5 years old and love salad. I started them with raw veggies like tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and celery. They also love croutons and ranch dressing. Next they love to shred the lettuce leaves at dinner time. I think helping prepare parts of a meal really encourages them to try their creations. Good luck!
A.

Oh its no biggie.
Don't worry.
Most kids are like that.
Heck, some adults don't even eat salads.
You just cook other things and have other vegetables.
It does not have to be a 'salad' per say.

My son is 4 almost 5, and he likes salads.
My daughter mostly but not all the time.
I don't fret over it.
Because, they do eat balanced and I cook healthy stuff.
My kids are 4 and 8.

Every kid is different.

And a 'serving size' for kids this age, is not in adult quantities.
So even if they nibble on it, so what.
Its fine.

Mine is just starting now at age 3.5. I started her on "training salads". I would use iceburg lettuce and a few of her favorite goodies (olives) on there. Then we moved onto some greaner greans. Its not her favorite, but I'm a firm beliver in being a good salad eater because its one of the only ways most of us eat fresh, uncooked, veg.

We have offered salad since we started table foods around 10 months or so. I think it's totally normal for kids to take some time before they actually eat a food that is being offered. My daughter has been through different phases of picking thinks out of her salad to eat... only the lettuce, only cucumbers...only tomatoes... that's fine by me. We eat a salad every day - sometimes she eats all, sometimes nothing...

I would say just keep on offering and maybe make it a bit interesting: shredded cheese or carrot, pieces of apples or raisins will give even die hard green haters a motivation to give it a try and in my opinion, once you get them started, even if it's just picking out the raisins, they are much more likely to go from there.
Good luck.

I think he was 2, but closer to 3 when he really started eating them. Good for the school that they put them out there!

My kids were about 2 or 3 when they started. It was simple for us. I was eating one, one of the kids asked if they could have a bite, I gave it to her and then the rest of the kids wanted some...so I gave the other two some. Next thing I know they're asking for salads at restaurants (cause that's what I would eat) so we'd add a side salad to their meal.

Maybe start having them at home and convincing him to try it.

Kids don't start eating salad at a certain age. 2 year olds can eat salad, and 10 year olds can say eeeewwwww!

There isn't anything wrong for your sons playgroup to serve salad! :)

My son was about 4. We were at McD's and I was eating a salad. My son asked for a bite, I gave him one, he said "Yum" and now I have a great salad eater. His older sister saw him eating it, she tried it too and liked it. they are now 11 and 8 and we have salad almost every night with dinner. I also make it basic with lettuce, cabbage, carrots and baby spinach. they also eat salads like chinese chicken salad and taco salad. and sometimes even for school lunch they will choose the salad on their own! I think if you just keep asking him to taste things that eventually he will and will like it. Of course, it helps that there is Ranch dressing on it...who doesn't like that??!! =)

My 2 yr old prefered the stuff on the salad: chunks of carrots, chunks of tomatoes, crutons, cheese, cucumber, celery. At 2, he had a hard time with the lettuce. I am not quite sure why, but he'd spit it out. But my son is now 3 and will eat just about anything with salad dressing on it.

Get him to start? Try it at home. Let him have a taste-test of salad dressings. Make a plate of veggies for him to dip and taste. If you make the plate look cute, like brocili for the ears, carrot for the hair, cucmbers for eyes, etc, it will be more fun, more inticing. My 3 yr old loves reverse psychology: "Don't eat the clown's ears! Then he won't be able to hear you!" And he gobbles it up giggling.

My 10y boy doesn't eat salad. My 4y girl started when she was 2y.

My 3 year old daughter loves salad... NOW. She didn't used to. I discovered that she didn't like all the stuff mixed together AND she couldn't stab it with a fork or get it to stay on the spoon. We eat a lot of taco salad or salad with grilled chicken, etc. and I was always making a separate veggie for her because she wasn't into the salad part which was basically the whole meal! I started putting just pieces of lettuce on her plate, picked out of the salad. She liked that. Then I'd pick out other things from my salad, lettuce, cucumber, carrot and put them all in separate little piles. I did that for quite awhile, probably 6 months - it just got to be habit to do it that way. Now she just eats salad if I put it on there. She still eats one thing at a time out of it - a piece of lettuce, then a carrot, etc. - but she doesn't care if it's all mixed together anymore. So, she really didn't eat an actual salad until recently, at 3 years old. :) I really think it's 100% normal that he doesn't eat the side salad.

My son didn't like things raw and cold at that age. I would always give him some lettuce and tomato, and sometimes carrots or cucumbers, and he finally realized that he loves tomatoes (after trying them all about 10 times). He will rarely eat lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, etc (I think it is a texture thing with these), at 3 years old. He will eat some cold vegetables, like peas and green beans, and he loves most vegetables cooked, but those are very different tasting and feeling. I think salad is not really a little kid food, hard for them to like or enjoy, so don't be surprised if he doesn't eat it. I'm surprised they don't mix it up and offer other vegetables, especially since they probably use iceberg lettuce with no real nutritional value.

My son has liked salad as long as I can remember... I'd say he started eating them around age 2? I always thought it was odd, but he liked them!

NONE of my kids eat salad (ages 9,5,2) I have tried many times to get them to try it and they absolutely refuse. They are not much for veggies at all, so it doesn't surprise me.

my kids started really early eating salads, now as teens they won't eat them at all!! Start by giving cut up veggies, like carrots, cucumbers, baby tomatoes, etc. Then have your child help you make a salad. Lots of kids will eat especially when there is ranch dressing involved!!!

My 3 and 5 year old will eat raw veggies with dressing to dip in, but will not eat salads. And, my 3 year old would definitely not eat them mixed.

My one year old eats cut up spinach, grated carrots and broccoli with ranch dressing.

My oldest two were 5 and 2 when we were out at a restaurant and they asked for a bite of my salad. From then on, it was never an issue.

Other veggies, though? That is VERY hit or miss, they are very picky, and they (of course) refuse to eat the same ones!

My 3 year old LOVE'S salad! That's the first thing she'll eat at dinner time. He will get used to it, try starting out by putting some sliced cucumber, baby carrots, and sliced tomatoe on his plate with a side of ranch dressing (or his fav dressing)...It all depends on each childs taste buds and getting used to the "new" food's. I bet you that he'll eventually start enjoying salad, you just gotta make it fun at times too, like have him help you make the salad, add some pea's, alfafa sprouts, croutons and/or canned black olives, I noticed that when I get my kid's involved in the kitchen with me while cooking they tend to have a bigger appitite :) Good Luck!

My daughter has been eating salad since she was about 1 1/2 i think.. she loves it. Raw veggies and all.. but this is the same kid who LOVES salmon sashimi and anything else you put in front of her.. guess we just got lucky :). Don't stress I was 18 before I ate salad and still only do a few veggies.. I seriously strain soups and stews that are loaded with them to save time from picking through.. It should probably be noted that I've had selective eating disorder since I was 2 and it's a constant thing. Trust me when I say this.. don't push it, some kids like things and some don't forcing food on your kid can be extremely traumatic. Every day at daycare was a nightmare for me and I'm 24 and I still remember it.

My kids both started eating lettuce at around three. They still won't eat raw spinach on it's own. Neither did I, at that age, and now it's a favorite food.

So, we eat a lot of spinach cooked, and I blend it into tasty smoothies.

Also, they DID eat salad but it wasn't lettuce/green leaf based ;-)

Fruit salad was always consumed with gusto. Ensalada caprese (tomato, basil, water mozzarella, etc) is gobbled up. Feta, nuts, apples, bacon (and romaine, which they'd leave out)...always a hit. Cucumbers and avocados are favorites, as are toasted nori sheets, carrots, cooked broccoli, and peas. Oh, and beet salads (because they're sweet) and coleslaw (with poppy seed dressing rather than mayo (yum)).

LETTUCE, in an of it's self, actually isn't that nutritionally valuable. So I don't really care if my kids eat it or not. It's good fiber, sure, but not a vitamin packed punch like some other greens/veggies/roots/nuts/fruits.

My son always thought he hated salad, but it turns out that he hates salad DRESSING. He also wants the raw veggies (including the lettuce) separated, not mixed.

My daughter, on the other hand, will only eat salad if it's drowning in dressing.

If he's never seen salad before, of course he'll refuse it. Do you eat much salad at home?

Everybody is different. Introduce salad at home, so it's familiar to him. Try letting everyone at the table prepare their own, so they can fix it how they want it - lots of carrots & a little lettuce, lots of lettuce & a taste of cucumbers or whatever - and then let everyone decide whether they have dressing on the side or on the veggies. Eventually, he'll start nibbling.

"Ranch Dressing" - okay it might not be the best for him, but they usually like it... Actually my 4 year old likes salads and I'd say for about a little over a year or so. My older son started to eat them as a toddler, he always said he wanted salad on his tacos (thought that was too funny). Maybe in another year or so he might start eating them, however, I have a grown BIL who won't eat them... does his daddy like them?

All my kids use to eat their veggies better than they do now... as they got to elementary school they started to not like them as much as they use too...

My 3 1/2 yr old started about a year ago. We had made a salad for dinner one night and she asked for some. We let her choose which dressing she wanted. The white or the red. She choose the white (Ranch). She loves greenbeans and schwans has a breaded greenbean. I always gave it to her with Ranch dressing. So I think that its the dressing more then the salad. She will only eat lettuce. Nothing else. She also loves black olives so I cut up some of them and put it in her salad. So ever since when we have a salad we will ask her if she wants some. Sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. We do not push it on her. There are times that she will ask for more. I only put a little bit in the bowl just in case she doesn't finish it. Maybe in time he will see the other kids eating it and will try it. I wouldn't push it on him. Let him try on his own.

Our daughter always loved tomatoes carrots and cucumbers..

Once she was 2 we started making her a small salad.. but it was all kept separate on the plate.. lettuce, spinach, tomato, carrots, cucumbers, She has never cared for dressing but lots of our little neighbor kids loved dipping their veggies into dip..

Maybe offer your son.. one item at a time on his plate.. do not make it a big deal.. He may surprise you and try it after a while..

Not to depress you, but I did not start eating salads until I was about 22, lol! (Diehard veggie hater in my youth - we still have a precarious relationship but are doing better).

She's 6; still won't eat a salad. Veggies in general she'll eat, though.

My daughter started around 3.5, just lettuce with maybe some shredded cheese or shredded carrot, and she likes them with ranch dressing. She's fine with darker green leafy salads, like spinach. She likes to dip carrot sticks in ranch dressing too.

Yes, my child was eating salads around 2.

Mine like the crunchiest pieces of iceberg lettuce (not the healthiest nutrition wise, but a good one to start with), dip it in a little bit of low fat ranch dressing. Add some shredded carrots, hard boiled egg, shredded cheese, cherry tomato, crumbled bacon... just let him experiment with it.

My daughter is 2.5 years old and she will eat a "salad"... but it is very simple... basically lettuce and croutons, no dressing. I do agree with Kat. D's suggestion of serving the salad "parts" separately rather than all together.

I do think salad is an acquired taste for most people. I would keep trying to introduce it... but don't force the issue (we have a one bite rule around here... you must eat one bite if it is on your plate)

I don't think salads are the ultimate in nutritious veggies. instead of salads you could also try cucumber slices with dressing "dip", broccoli "little trees", carrot slices, baby spinach, celery with peanut butter and raisins, cauliflower, etc...

If he will eat veggies and dip, see if you could send them with him to preschool to serve instead of the salad... and keep trying salads at home!

Good luck!
-M.

All of my kids started around age 2 but none of them like dressing so they just ask for plain lettuce lol

I think all kids are different. My oldest son would eat anything put in front of him as soon as we started solids and has never been a picky eater. My middle child literally was 9 before she would eat a salad, and then my youngest has been eating salads since he could mooch off our plates = ) He has been getting his own salad since he was 2, he is picky though, he only eats carrots and lettuce ( No tomato) and only likes ranch dressing. I would start by just offering it on a regular basis.

I think my son started asking for salad at about 3. He LOVES salads at 8.

My daughter just started liking salad and is turning 6 in two days! She wouldn't touch it before. :-) Before now, she typically would only eat corn, potatoes, peas and most beans (not green beans). Now she'll eat a whole salad or beg to have some of mine if we're out to dinner. She still doesn't like carrots or cucumbers though.

Neither of my kids will eat salad but I keep trying. My friend's son LOVES salad and has been eating it since he was about 18 months old. He actually asks for it and one of his first words was "basalm!" for more basalmic vinegar! That kid also loves sushi and seaweed and kale....you name it...and he only 2 and a half now. He hates for his meals to be the same over and over and always wants variety. Maybe he'll be a famous chef one day.

My daughter that actually eats salad started doing so when she was a year and a half. She actually insisted we keep salwip (cut up lettuce) in the fridge all the time. She would eat salads for snacks.

Now the other three, my sons both just started eating salad, they are 12 and 23. :( My other daughter is 10 and just started eating them. The salad eater is now 21 and eats better than the rest.

My five year old is a pretty adventurous eater and likes a number of veggies and fruits, but wouldn't touch salad until recently. Now he loves it!

My two year old LOVES lettuce. So I give him his own side salad with just lettuce, olives and seeds/nuts. He doesn't like dressing or alot of veggies on top. Maybe try one thing at a time. GL

M

My older kids did not like to eat salad until maybe 5 yrs old and only one of them really likes it. My 3 yr old has liked salad since she could actually eat it. She loves ranch dressing too. And she will not eat plain carrots but will eat them with a little dressing.

All my kids have always loved thier veggies so I lucked out in that spot though not sure if that has anything to do with it. My son will only eat salad with iceberg lettuce. He does not like romaine, but will eat spinach if I throw it in.

My husband and I eat salads regularly. For little ones, I usually just serve the ingredients of the salad just not all mixed together. So, the plate will have a pile of nuts, a pile of cheese, a pile of apple chunks, or whatever was in the salad.

DD is 5 & she won't eat a salad because for some reason, lettuce & tomatoes are the only foods she won't eat. She has a serious aversion to them which I cannot explain. She will eat pretty much anything else, veggies, fruits, ethnic food, etc., so I don't make an issue of it. Come to think of if, I don't know of many kids that like salads, honestly. I don't really even like salads. Guess I'm not much help!!

It is an individual thing. Some do, some don't. Does he eat vegetables in general? I would start introducing the veggie one at a time then eventually turn it into a salad. My 2 1/2 yr old loves salad, I started her on veggies when she was first eating solids and gave her as much variety as possible.

My kids will not eat it no matter what I do ....Sigh
ages 4 to 5