Feeding toddlers can sometimes feel like a battle you are never going to win, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can have happy, relaxing, family mealtimes by making it more fun for your toddlers.
Sound like a dream come true? Herre’s what you need to do:
- Invest in fun tableware
If you want to convince your toddler that spending time at the dinner table is anything other than torture, then check out this cute bamboo tableware for children. Your child is far more likely to be convinced to sit down and enjoy a meal with you when her bowl is in the shape of a rabbit or she has cute Hello Kitty cutlery to play with. When your tableware looks more like a toy, your toddler will find endless joy, so do yourself a favour and make the table look more fun.
- Turn your food into fun shapes
Heart-shaped eggs, rice that’s been moulded into the form of a cat and carrots that look like flowers? This may sound like a lot of work, but you can buy simple mould kits that let your turn the meals you make into cutesy shapes that are really appealing to the average toddler, and they will be worth it if it means your child will have fun, rather than a tantrum, at the dinner table.
- Let them choose
Okay, so if you let your toddler have free reign over the meal plan, you’re likely to end up with a lot of chocolate, cakes and other sweet treats, so you probably shouldn’t do that. What you can do, however, is offer them two or three choices of a healthy balanced meal and let them pick which one they would prefer. That way, they’ll feel like they have more control over what they’re eating and a battle is less likely to ensue.
- Let them help with the prep
As soon as your toddler is old enough, let them help with the prep in an age-appropriate way, even if it’s only handing your bowls or mixing dough. When they are engaged in the process, they will get curious about it, and they will feel more connected to the meals they are being asked to eat, which means they are far more likely to actually get stuck in and enjoy their meal. I bought M a toddler knife and she loves using it!
- Stick to a schedule
It’s not always possible, but if you can stick to a schedule and eat mealtimes at the same time each day, following roughly the same process, your toddler will know what to expect and get more comfortable with following the process, which will mean a more relaxing family dinner time for you all. They’ll know what’s going to happen and when, so they’ll be able to relax and just enjoy being with you and you all eat, laugh and talk together.
Toddlers are notorious for playing up at mealtimes, but, as you can see, there are lots of things you can do to make it more fun and relaxing for them, and you.
