Getting kids to eat is tough. I know there are many views on this issue. Some say kids will eat when they are hungry. Others say kids need to be surrounded by food all throughout the day. Everyone has an opinion and if you are foolish to ask people, then you are going to get lots and lots of ideas to make sure your kids eat. This goes without saying, but I feel I need to say this, I am not a nutritionist or a doctor so please don’t treat this article as gospel. I have found a few ways to get your kids to try new food or eat their food in a timely manner.
I do have to say my youngest, Jordan, who will be two this July eats very well. You put something on her plate and she will eat it up in a timely manner. My oldest, Lily, who just turned four takes forever to eat. I am not looking for her to be Kobayashi, (world record holder of several hot dog eating contests for those who don’t know of his name) but it would be nice if she did not eat at a pace that is similar to the line moving at a DMV.
Enough of me crabbing about the time it takes for my oldest to eat, let’s move on to some ideas that might work for you. One way that worked for me was to plate my daughter’s meal like I was presenting on Iron Chef. Well at least an Iron Chef for kids. Lily loves butterflies and dragonflies (note the picture of her breakfast made out of pancakes and grapes in the shape of a dragonfly) so sometimes I would make her meal in a shape of those insects. I love the smile I get from her as soon as I place the plate in front of her. She looks at the plate and would get excited about her meal. For lunch I use a butterfly cookie cutter to cut out that shape in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When I do this she has fun with her meal and eats it all up in a timely manner. So that is one way to help your kids eat their meal. Still it takes a bit longer than just fixing a regular meal so if you are short on time this may not work.
The second option is cooking with your child, which is fun for me as it is for her. I was making a beef casserole dish and I wanted her to try it. As soon as I told her what we were having she made a face as if I kicked her Disney doll collection down the stairs. I told her that it is good for her to try new things, but that did not work. (SHOCKING!) So I asked her if she would at least make the dinner with me. She agreed to do that and while we were cooking she said, “Mmmmm that smells good.” After we finished cooking the meal I asked her if she wanted to try it and she said yes and loved the taste. So at dinner she ate what everyone else at the table ate that night. SUCCESS! Lily told me that she had fun making dinner with me and would want to help again. So parents, this might be a fun way to get your child to learn about food and the time and effort that goes into preparing meals.
The last option for some strange reason is that if I am on the go and I need my children to eat, I bring food for them to eat in the car. I don’t know what it is about the car or if it just something new to them, but both kids finish the meal before I leave my neighborhood. I thought about decorating my kitchen table as the inside of a Jeep, but it is hard to find leather dinner tables at IKEA. Also please note for meals in the car make sure it is a meal that is not that sloppy or you will pay. TRUST ME ON THIS ONE!