7 Ways to Help Your Child Eat a Daily Serving of Fruit

I absolutely love cherries, as does my daughter, but they are such a choking hazard. Instead of spending hours pitting an entire cup, grab a couple of straws and turn them into pitting machines. Carefully press the straw up through the bottom of the cherry, pushing the pit up and out at the top. Fruits are naturally high in acids, so it's smart to have your child wait 30 to 60 minutes after eating to brush so you aren't upsetting weakened enamel.

Pick up a selection of cute plastic bowls that hold a perfect cup of fruit for filling and handing to your child. Older ones can even serve themselves when searching for a snack.

Firmer fruits, especially melons, hold up to cookie cutters. You can create so many fun shapes and designs that will tempt your little one. Use them for making patterns on plates, stacking together with slices of cheese, or adding to lunches. They're so fun!

Mangos have such a bright flavor that kids love, but getting to the actual fruit can be a challenge. Use a knife to cut away the sides of the fruit, then slice parallel lines through the fruit to the skin. Then cut lines the other direction, creating cubes. Cut away from the skin, and you have beautiful chunks of mango!

One whole piece of fruit, like a peach or pear, is roughly half of a child's daily serving. Add it to lunch bags, bring to the park, or even slice and serve alongside dinner. If you're looking for ways to mix it up, chop up one whole fruit and add to a blender with ice and low-fat vanilla yogurt for a smoothie, or dice and add to a fresh salad!

Another way to entice little ones to love fruits is to play around with how they're presented. Measure out a cup of the fruit, and then play around with arrangement on a plate. One cup of raspberries looks completely different when it's not in a bowl! Or turn snack time into an edible experience and let your child play around with creating fruit patterns or designs.

This is a big hit at our house: offer your child a half-cup each of two different fruits, preferably ones that are fairly sturdy like melons or bananas, along with a couple of popsicle sticks. She can stack them together, then have fun eating and enjoying the flavor combinations!

How do you protect your children's enamel and the effects of acid erosion while letting them enjoy the foods they love? Make some simple adjustments to their daily dental hygiene and choose a toothpaste specially formulated to protect enamel. For more information on keeping your child's teeth healthy, click here.