(I originally wrote this article for a post on www.westvalleymomsblog.com published on 3/11/13, but thought you all may find it pretty useful too....please enjoy!)
Chances are, there is going to come a day when your little one looks
at meal in front of them and say “I don’t want to eat that.” They have
decided that today is a great day to exercise their new-found
independence, and often that realization come while at the meal table.
For some kids, this phase comes much earlier than others….even as young
as infancy. For others, it is a case of a child who has eaten like a
champ since birth, but as soon as they hit pre-school for the first
time, they start to turn their nose up at mealtime.
With my oldest, now almost four, this phase hit as soon as her little
feet hit the ground and started walking. Miss Independent had her own
ideas about mealtime, and I admittedly made the same mistake that so
many parents do. I bribed, I forced, I freaked out on her. I didn’t know
any better and to be honest, I was afraid she would starve. As the
months and years went by, I read more and more articles and talked to
various experts in childhood nutrition that maintain that when it comes
to helping children develop lifelong healthy relationships with food,
bribery and “just take 3 more bites” may actually be doing more harm
than good. Yikes!
Today, I am sharing with you some of the tips and tricks I have
learned along that way that have gotten my kids excited about mealtime
and turned the sentiment (most of the time…) from “I don’t want to eat
that” to “How can we make that for dinner?” Music to this mama’s ears.
Play With Your Food - Regardless
of what your grandmother told you at the dinner table when you were a
child, when it comes to getting little ones to try new foods, it really
is OK to play with your food. This is a time for you as a parent to
exercise your creative side! Make a smiley face on the plate with
spaghetti squash as the hair and a bell pepper as the mouth. Make a
tic-tac-toe board on their plate with carrot sticks and use some other
veggies as the “x’s” and “o’s”. And if you are not confident in your own
creative abilities with food, that is OK! There are products out there
that can help with this. There are plates with faces and various scenes
already on them that you can decorate with food of your choice! Make it
fun and chances are, they will step right up!
Make Mealtime A Lesson Time -
For the toddler set, turn mealtime into education time. If your little
ones are learning their letters, make it a game to eat a new food that
starts with the letter of the day! If today is “A” day, make it a goal
for your little one to try asparagus or artichokes for the first time.
Change the letter each day to keep it new and exciting! Or, if it is
colors that you are focusing on, you can do the same thing. If today is
“orange” day, maybe they try butternut squash for the first time or even
sweet potato fries! If you really want to make it an experience, create
a chart to hang on the wall or fridge and give them a sticker when they
complete a letter or color. Kiddos this age love a little challenge and
this is a great way to incorporate that!
Take Them Shopping With You - Trust
me, I know that sometimes that weekend trip to the grocery store is a
great time for mom to get an hour of solitude, but if you are going
through a picky phase with your little one, it may be a good time to
take them with you. Make sure to spend lots of time in the outer edges
of the store….produce, meat, dairy. And not sure much in the inner
aisles….usually processed foods. Allow your little one to pick out a new
fruit or veggie to try that week. Talk with them about how the food
gets to the store (include lots of imagery about tractors and big
trucks…kids dig that stuff). By doing this, your little love will feel
like they helped make the decision this week. If they chose the food,
chances are, they will eat it!
Get Them In The Kitchen - This
is a great one for the pre-school set. Sure, there are tasks they
should steer clear of….cutting, boiling, grating, etc. But there are
LOTS of tasks you can have your little one help with when it comes to
meal-prep. They can help get ingredients out of the pantry/fridge, they
can scoop flour from a bin, they can dump pre-measured ingredients into a
bowl, they can even stir. Sure, it may mean a little more of a mess to
clean up after dinner, but kiddos love to help “create” and what better
way to do so than in the kitchen? Plus, it is sure to create some great
memories along the way. And just watch their face light up when they
tell the whole family, “I helped make that”..and then dig in!
Those picky phases can be so frustrating, but next time they hit,
give a few of these a try! I hope they help you as much as they have
helped us along the way!
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