Sign your kid up for this fun storytelling workshop that promises to make your tiny tot a fan of fresh fruits and vegetables
Like the typical mother of a toddler, Mumbai-based Zarine Jalil Menon hit a roadblock when it came to coaxing her son into eating vegetables and fruits. And though she tried the food-laden-spoon-disguised-as-a-plane bit, it failed to stick. So, she came up with something more creative — using colourful fresh fruits and vegetables to form a picture with the ingredients, while weaving a story imagining the veggies as characters. And he took the bait. Menon extended this healthy practice to her son's classmates and requests from parents to conduct such workshops for kids poured in.
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Zarine Jalil Menon
'Today, my inspiration eats everything,' reveals Menon, whose background in the creative side of programming on TV aided her quest. 'It's a great way to introduce colours, textures and a sense of taste to kids. The trick is to do so in a non-forceful way. How the food item is presented is crucial. If done in a fun way, it is associated with good memories in the child's mind. So, the next time you offer it to them, they are open to eating it,' Menon explains.
She's kept one such workshop this Sunday for kids aged between four and eight, as it is better if the child's development of preference is done at a younger age, Menon opines. 'It's good to give the child a carrot or pepper to nibble on so they can acquire a taste for the raw version,' Menon explains.
The tales she narrates are nature-inspired stories, and she prefers to plonk herself down on a mat with her audience and use pre-cut carrot, capsicum, strawberries, corn, broccoli or cucumber to concoct a story. She also slips in how to clean vegetables. The catch is that the audience has to finish all the contents of the plate by end of the story.
On: January 20, 11 am
At: Harkat Studios, Bungalow 75, Andheri West.
Log on to: insider.in
Cost: Rs 500
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