Facts are facts, and the fact is, most kids, for whatever reason -- bad influences, genes, just plain mule-headedness -- won't eat vegetables.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Our neighbors a few doors down, for instance, have a 4-year-old named Josh whom they characterize as "a wonderful eater." Judging from the size and sphere-like shape of him, I don't doubt it. Apparently the little mutant freak will happily devour literally anything you stick under his nose, possibly including worms and small frogs, if the neighborhood kids are to be believed.

But Josh is one in a thousand. Most tykes are much more finicky, and the majority will gag and make exaggerated retching sounds if they spy the slightest hint of anything green on their plates. My six-year-old daughter Grace is one of them.

And the thing is, kids have to have their vegetables, right? Do magazines, daily newspapers and cable TV news stations (like CNN's ubiquitous health-noodge Dr. Sanjay Gupta) EVER let up on reminding us how children (and adults, too, for that matter) nowadays eat way too much high-fat and high-sugar fast food, and how important it is to have roughly 27 servings of veggies a day?

By God, one way or another, my daughter's going to be chowing down on broccoli and spinach before long, or my wife and I are lousy freakin' excuses for parents, no doubt about it.

So I came up with a few ideas. I then e-mailed them to our pediatrician, whom I'll call Dr. Humorless (for reasons that will become apparent) to get his professional reaction to them. Ideas and reactions follow.

1. Using a blender, puree a few cups of veggies into a gloppy mess. Pour the gloppy mess into a turkey baster. Hide the baster behind your back and approach your child. Tell the kid you just heard SpongeBob SquarePants died. While he's wailing, whip out the turkey baster and insert the end into his wide open mouth. Quickly squeeze the bulb, thereby injecting the nutritious goo right down your child's gullet.

If you're quick enough, he will have consumed his daily veggie requirement before he knows what hit him. This is a tricky maneuver, so I'd advise practising on the cat first. Of course, cats don't care about SpongeBob, but a good stomp on the tail should have the same maw-dilating effect. Just be sure to keep the tail pinned down, or Sylvester will tear out of there.

Dr. Humorless responds: It is definitely not a good idea to force-feed a child. I hope you wouldn't actually try this. I also do not approve of cruelty to animals.

Well, excu-u-u-se me.

2. Simple trickery. Give your child a veggie burger rather than the real thing, but for God's sake don't ever tell her what it is. The first time I pulled this on my daughter, I wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell the difference. She couldn't, and ate it without complaint. Unfortunately, while healthy enough, veggie burgers are mostly soy-derived, and don't contain greens, so this is sort of an empty victory.

Dr. H. responds: I see nothing wrong with this. Not a bad idea if it works.

3. Simple trickery Part 2. Get some food dye. Mix up some red, yellow and black to make tan or pinkish brown. Using a carving knife, carefully whittle down a cucumber or zuchini until it's about the size and shape of the average hot dog. Soak the veggie in the food dye overnight. By the next day, you should have a fairly convincing looking faux wiener. Nuke it so it's softer and less crisp, pop it into a bun, add ketchup and mustard and voila! You've conned your little rugrat into eating healthy.

Dr. H. responds: Might work, but seems like a lot of work to go through.

4. Bribery. Aside from politicians and health inspectors, no one is easier to bribe than kids. The ideal situation is if your child is hooked into collecting some inexpensive series of toys (my daughter is into these "Littlest Pet Shop" thingies), then you have a shot at occasionally promising a toy in exchange for the kid eating a handful of string beans.

Dr. H. responds: If it's not a strain on your wallet, so be it.

5. Peer pressure. Simply getting your child into a school environment or something similar where he's with other kids at lunch and sees them eating stuff he wouldn't usually touch will psychologically reinforce the idea that those foods may not be so bad after all.

Accordingly, let him buy rather than bring lunch -- then he might take a chance on something unfamiliar as long as some other kid is eating it.

Dr. H. responds: At last, some sensible advice.

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Having a tough time getting your kids to take vitamins? Are the young ones turning up their noses at fruit? Stop fighting. Serve your children this tasty Fruit Juice Spritzer.

A word of warning: Be careful about taste-testing this drink. One sip and you'll want to steal away this yummy spritzer. Be fair to all and make your own!

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsweetened fruit juice of choice
1/2 cup club soda, sodium-free

Combine fruit juice and soda. Enjoy!

Makes one serving. Nutritional values per serving: 40 calories, 0g fat (0g sat), 0g protein, 10g carbohydrate, 0g fiber, 0mg cholesterol and 0mg sodium.

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Children are just as subject to the dietary preferences that compromise health as adults are, and they lack adult restraint and insight. Children also tend to be even more averse to new foods and flavors than adults. Kids tend to like sugar, salt and fat.

Because familiarity is a strong determinant of food preferences, once a high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt diet has been adopted -- the familiarity of that dietary pattern reinforces its appeal.

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So, accommodating your kids can pose quite a challenge as you try to improve the way you eat. The flip side is that good eating habits in childhood tend to predict lifelong behavior, so establishing good eating habits in childhood is especially important.

Recognize that while children may be less motivated to change their diets than adults, they actually adapt to change more readily. The younger children are, the more easily they tend to acclimate to new dietary patterns. So, there will never be a better time than today to begin improving the dietary practices of your kids.

If your children are too young to understand the rationale for trying to eat a healthful diet, they are young enough to have dietary changes imposed without much discussion. Use strategies and skills for insightful shopping and food-label interpretation to make your home a “safe” nutritional environment.

You can still provide all of the types of food your children are likely to request, including cookies, snacks and chips. Children wanting ice cream in a home that only stocks non-fat frozen yogurt, or sorbet, will not know the difference! (As a father of five children, I know this from personal experience!)

Maintaining such practices will be easier than establishing them. Children, like adults, will tend to resist any dietary change. But they can acclimate. Stick with your plan and your new foods for two weeks, putting up with any protests during that time. You will likely notice that the fussing is over by the end of that period. You have won!

If your children are old enough to understand the link between diet and health, discuss it with them. They may already have a weight problem, and if not, will certainly have friends who do. Children are generally no happier about being overweight than adults, and they are equally prone to stigma and ridicule by their peers, if not more so. No kid wants to be obese if they can help it. And they can.

In the same non-judgmental way that you would like your own dietary habits addressed, help your children to understand that the way they eat will influence their health. Identify healthful eating as a family priority, something to work toward and take pride in. Make eating well a family commitment.

One good way of getting young kids interested in eating well is to involve them in food preparation. Let them help you prepare the dishes you particularly want to introduce into their diets. Because they feel responsible for these dishes, they will be more likely to taste them -- and to try to like them.

Your mother probably urged you to clean your plate. Why? One generation has passed along to the next -- from the Stone Age right up to the Depression and beyond -- the fear of not having enough food! Parents can’t seem to get used to the idea that, in the modern era of epidemic obesity, the danger is eating too much rather than too little.

If you traditionally encourage “plate-cleaning,” it’s time to stop. When we all have too much to eat, there is no good reason for eating all we have! Encourage your children to eat until full. Put less on their plates, rather than asking them to eat more.

Allow your children to develop a comfortable relationship with food. Recognize that children may eat erratically, achieving balanced nutrition over a few days, but not necessarily every day. To the extent that you can, let them eat when they are hungry. Be sure to give them good, nutritious choices. Then, let them take over.

Avoid the common practice of using dessert as a reward for finishing a meal. Children, like the rest of us, will want dessert whether or not they finish their meal. If they eat past hunger to finish a meal, sweet will still appeal to them -- leading to an excess intake of calories. Instead, offer only reasonable options for dessert and make these available at limited times (e.g., only after dinner, not after lunch; only certain days of the week). Make dessert independent of what is eaten before. There is no evidence that requiring more eating on the way to dessert has ever led to improved dietary health or weight control.

Do not rule out snacking for your children, any more than for yourself. What could be better than spoiling our appetites a little, when our appetites are part of why we are an increasingly overweight society? Give your children access to nutritious snacks and give them free rein to spoil their appetites. In fact, go ahead and join them! In diet, as in all things, children respond well to role models. If you adopt and demonstrate a healthful dietary pattern (while discussing your reasons), you become a positive role model.

Hours spent watching television, rather than engaged in physical activity, are thought to be an important contributor to the epidemic of childhood obesity in the U.S., compounded by commercials for sugary, salty and fatty foods. Restrict TV viewing, or at least be aware of the exposure and the messages. By knowing what your children are being told by advertisers, you can develop appropriate messages to compensate.

Be patient, gentle and compromising; but be firm. If you are like most parents, you would not accept your children smoking in your home just because they want to! It is time to acknowledge that (on a population basis), poor dietary habits are actually a bigger threat to our children than tobacco. Once you have solidified your own commitment to eating in a more healthful way, you are quite justified in insisting that your children accompany you. By making good use of several simple strategies, you can make the way to eating well open to your whole family.

David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM is Associate Clinical Professor of Public Health & Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, and Director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. A board-certified specialist in both Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine, Katz is a nutrition columnist to “O,” the Oprah Magazine, and author of 7 books to date, including the nutrition text used at the Harvard and Yale Medical Schools, and The Way To Eat (Sourcebooks), which details over 50 essential skills and strategies for getting around commonly encountered obstacles to lifelong nutritional health and weight control. He and his wife Catherine have 5 children (Rebecca,14; Corinda,13; Valerie,8; Natalia,7; and Gabriel,4), so the advice in this column is vigorously field-tested!

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My beautiful son is not yet 3 and has always been very, very big. He was 10 pounds, 6 ounces at birth, even though I wasn't diabetic. He's always been a big eater and not attracted to healthier foods (I always present several veggies at dinner and he always opts for whatever isn't a vegetable.)

Until recently, we haven't worried about his weight because the doctor always said he was proportional. That changed at his last checkup. His doctor has recommended getting him more active and getting him to eat healthier. What's the best way to do this without making it an issue and stigmatizing him? She says to refuse him seconds -- won't that increase his longing for food? I desperately want to help my son learn to make healthier choices so that he avoids unnecessary health problems and heartache down the road. Do you have any advice for me?
--Anonymous

You mentioned that you always offer veggies, but he chooses your other options. Why offer anything that isn't healthy?

I often tell parents, kids will never starve. The only reason they won’t eat healthy foods is because they know that eventually the parents will give in and offer them the food they’re used to eating. So begin first by NOT offering food that is anything less than healthy. Don’t make it an issue, just serve what’s best for the whole family. If you’re serving turkey, potatoes, green beans and salad, there’s not a whole lot of damage that can be done with those choices. If he doesn’t eat the green beans, try putting cut up fruit on the table.

You need to keep healthy options in your home and encourage him to move more and sit less and that can be done by going for walks and bike rides together. If you are concerned about him making healthier choices, have nothing but healthy choices in your home. Parents feel guilty if they don’t buy junk food or foods that are trendy. They shouldn't feel that way, because kids are far more sedentary than we were, we owe it to them to provide healthier options.

If you can lay the foundation for healthy eating in your home, he'll be more likely to continue making those choices outside the home.

Nicki Anderson is the owner of Reality Fitness Inc., an award-winning studio in Naperville, IL. She is the author of "Reality Fitness; Inspiration for Your Health and Well-being" and the health-and-fitness columnist for Chicago Suburban Newspapers. Nicki speaks all over the country inspiring others to develop and maintain a dedication to healthy living. For more information visit www.realityfitness.com

The eDiets Trim Kids Program is a kid-friendly treatment for overweight children that provides meals and recipes designed for a child’s tastes. You also get weekly tips, suggested activities, online meetings, chats and much, much more. Click here to get started.

If your fall wardrobe has you feeling more frumpy than fashionable, there’s an easy fix -- a stylish pair of boots. And this season, your options for funky boot wear are practically endless, even for those of us with wide calves. Before you go boot shopping, take a look at these hot trends to help you put your best foot forward this season.

Ankle Booties
If you only get one pair of boots, make sure it’s the hottest -- the ankle bootie. It's a cross between a boot and a pump and gives you the best of both worlds. This '80s-inspired look can give you a lot of mileage with your fashion.

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What to Wear
You can pair your booties with a long, flowing skirt or dress, a high-waist skirt, skinny-leg pants or a pair of boot-leg jeans.

One to Try
Jessica Simpson’s Makan boot has a Pirates of the Caribbean-styled buckle that wraps fashionably around the ankle boot. They're a beautiful pair of boots for your wide-leg denim and high-waist skirts.

Military Boots
If you want to get noticed, make a statement with some tall military boots. These boots typically have buckle or button accents. Think Janet Jackson in her "Rhythm Nation" video, and you’ll get the idea. The best thing about military boots is that they typically come with a comfortable heel.

What to Wear
These boots are perfect with your skinny, stretchy jeans. You can also opt for less military-styled knee-highs with a pointy heel for a more feminine look. Pair boots with an A-line miniskirt or a mid-calf skirt.

One to Try
give you a sexy look.

Lounge (Slouch) Boot
Lounge boots are so comfortable they make you feel like your walking around in your house slippers. They come in many different styles and fashions and typically slouch in the middle of the boot. Most lounge boots are suede and have a super-flat heel with a round toe.

What to Wear
These boots go great with your fall leggings or tight-fitting denim or short skirts.

One to try
The ideal lounge boot has just the right amount of slouch to make your legs look stylish but not bulky. Try one on for size at BarefootTess.com, Zappos.com and Endless.com cater to women with larger calves and larger legs in general.

Plus-size stores like Torrid, Lane Bryant and Silhouettes also have a good collection of wide-calf boots. In addition, when you shop in your local mall, look for boots with stretchy materials like micro-suede and for slouchy styles that tend to be a bit roomier in the calves.

So there you have it -- several reasons to give your shoe the boot this season.

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Joy Davis is a freelance writer who specializes in holistic wellness, fitness and travel. Several of her articles have also appeared in City Smart Magazine.