Picky eaters can be defeated!
As most know, we have two toddler boys. It is often very difficult to make a single meal that everyone will eat. Outside of making three seperate meals and jumping through hoops, which I refuse to do, I have come up with some great tips for keeping toddlers interested in eating a variety of foods. These tips have helped us, and obviously wont work for everyone, but we swear by them…
Tips for Keeping Kids Interested in a Variety of Foods
- Let them help…Even simple things like a Parent cutting up some veggies and letting your kids put them into a big bowl to help make salad. They can even mix it all together afterwards. My kids often do a lot of taste-testing…how can I complain about my kids munching on veggies?!
- To encourage my kids to eat more healthful, rather then strictly telling them they should, I often just ask them to come help me prepare some foods so that they are more interested in tasting their creations. Kids can always help with the mixing process, or with the adding of ingredients…So when you are preparing anything that requires several ingredients, there is nothing wrong with letting kids do the adding and mixing (as long as it is not over a hot stove)
- Smoothies are another great thing to make with the kids. You can pre-cut some fruit so that your kids can add it to an unplugged blender. They can then add the yogurt, milk or juice as well. I usually plug it in when it is ready to blend and let the boys push the correct button. They take turns blending…therefore, no fights!
- Make your own pizza night is great! Buy some readi-made pizza crust, preferably the mini ones. Put small bowls of each topping in front of each child…pizza sauce, shredded cheese, pepperoni, etc. The fact that they are preparing their own pizza makes them so excited about actually eating it.
- Play restaurant…We often put out all of the TV trays in a row in our family room, sort of like a counter at a restaurant. Then we fill about eight little bowls with what we call “snack foods”. We use baby carrots, cucumbers, strawberries, celery sticks, cheese sticks, wheat crackers, apple slices, goldfish crackers, etc. The kids have a great time playing restaurant while also eating a healthy snack.
- We find that letting our kids “serve” themselves from the dinner table works so much better than preparing their plates for them. It seems to change their mindset from us telling them what they are going to eat, to them making the decision on their own as to what they will eat. Dinnertime becomes more successful that way.
- Making their food into shapes is a huge success in our house as well. We make grilled cheese shaped like robots. We make sandwiches shaped like circles, squares, triangles, etc. If your kids like raisins, you can use them as eyes, nose and mouth. Be creative.
- If you are not a very good “home-made baker” (like me), you can add mashed fruit into almost anything that you are making from a package…muffin mix, bread mix, cake mix, cookie mix. It makes me feel a little better about giving them something not so healthy.
The key is to be creative and keep your kids interested. Participation is the key.
Good luck!
raelynn
Hello world!
And the ride begins. We will be sharing our knowledge of toddler aged children and their sleep and comfort needs. We will often recommend products or services to help parents out with their daily struggles. You would be surprised how much a child having a good night’s sleep can impact their whole entire day.
Come back and check in often. You are sure to learn a lot!
Sincerely,
raelynn @ www.kidzcomfort.com
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