First things first, don't call a dish a "salad." Most kids don't like salad or the thought of a salad. Try something more fun like, "We're having a cherry tomato surprise!" Most kids like surprises.

Next, let them get involved. For this particular easy late-summer dish, even the tiniest hands can help. I slice the tomatoes and my 2-year-old puts them into a bowl. Same goes for the basil. I handle the onions (and more on this in a second), then our 4-year-old adds the olive oil and helps to gently stir.

So the onions. Yes, I left in the long slices of red onion. I know most kids don't like onions, but there are usually two ways to approach this: Make the onions so small kids won't see and taste them or make them big enough to easily avoid. We went with the latter. And it worked.