My kids won't eat ______!!!

So if you have ever said My kids won't eat...followed by vegetables, fruit, wheat bread or food that's good for them this article is for you.
No this is not an article full of wonderful tips on how to magically get your kids to start wanting broccoli over a cheeseburger. This is a call to look at yourself and your food decisions.
Where are your food priorities? Do you value pleasure over health? Do you value price over quality? Do you stop off in the drive through regularly because you are too busy to cook? Do you eat the things that you want your kids to eat? Do you eat them with the same pleasure and gusto as you would say a nice juicy burger?
Why would you expect your children to eat any different than you?
Now hear this it is never too late to change your children's eating habits!!! Now if they are teenagers or even if they are seven or eight and they have lived off nothing but junk it will be difficult!! Do not give up!!!
First you must decide what your food priorities are. You do not have to give up anything as long as it is real food. Treats should still be real food and should be treats. Also look at portions how much on your plate is meat? How much is veggies and whole grains? Once you have your food priorities set you then make a plan and sit down with your children. Explain to them the importance of taking care of our bodies and apologize for not teaching them this before if necessary. This is a journey you can take on together!
Now if you have very young children you need to take some things into account. It is normally to have likes dislikes. This can be based on texture taste look etc. Pay attention to what your child does not like but continue to offer small amounts of it and encourage them to try a small amount of it. They may come around do not give up! Offer things they "don't like" in a different way. My youngest would not eat a strawberry would not even try it until I cut it up into tiny tiny pieces now it's one of her favorite and she eats it in much larger sizes.
If your child is refusing to eat any vegetables or any fruit or even will eat nothing unless it's chicken or it's covered in ketchup. This is not healthy it is not normal (although it is main stream.) Offer them food that you are eating do not fix them something different and If they are hungry they will eat it!!! It is not child abuse they will not have an eating disorder. Feed them food you know is good for them and that you eat yourself. Now if you refuse to eat something you can't very well make them eat it!! If they gag or throw up while eating something don't shove it down their throat. If you are fixing a nice balanced meal with some choices on their plate there will be something they can eat. If you know they like sweet potatoes and they have yet to eat corn. Give them more sweet potatoes than corn but still put the corn on the plate and encourage them to try at least one bite.
Now some of you might think this harsh and cruel. It is not. What is harsh and cruel is allowing your children to eat poorly and condemning them to a lifetime of diet related disease and an inability to make healthy decisions.
Now if you are just now trying to get healthy do not beat yourself up over past decisions. We all make mistakes. We all have to start this journey somewhere. You can control where you go from here though!! You do not have to continue in the old path of eating! You know what to do. You know what is best for your children.
Remember you can do this!!! You and your family are worth it!!!
Good luck and healthy eating!