Winning the War at Home

Step 3—Try Healthy Foods 10 Times

This is especially difficult, Dr. Oz says, because many parents want meals to be easy. But giving up on healthy food is a big mistake. "It will take you, on average, 10 times of exposing a kid to a food before they'll finally say, 'You know what? I sort of like that.'"

One way to break through that barrier is by using good peer pressure. Dr. Oz says he used his oldest daughter, Daphne, to influence the younger ones. "Once I got her to eat right, then the other ones [followed] because they think the oldest child's cool," he says.

Dr. Oz says you don't even need to rely on other sons and daughters—any peer your kid knows can help. "You get one child who's willing to be smart about the way they eat," he says. "It can be in your play group, your school, whatever, just get one kid—one ally—and you'll bust through the defense."