Monday, June 26, 2006
Making Do on Mondays
This week is focused on some ways to make toddler feeding time a little less problematic. A couple of these tips I took from my "Hints from Heloise" book... others are just the "live and learn" type. Feel free to add your own in our comments.- For picky eaters, often an edible container will entice young children to eat their food. Ice cream cones are great for holding tuna or egg salad, cottage cheese, yogurt etc. I've also found that tortillas sometimes do the trick. My three year old is much more likely to eat his food if it's wrapped up in a tortilla, especially eggs, or any beef casserole dishes of which he might be suspicious.
- When you need a bib in a pinch, use a plastic grocery bag. The handles work great to tie loosely around a toddler's neck. Of course, make sure they aren't left alone with the bag around their neck... but these work great and are disposable too!
- Speaking of bibs, the best $1.00 I ever spent was to buy one of those plastic molded bibs from the clearance bin at Burlington Coat Factory. I know IKEA sells them and you can get the name brand one seen above at Babys R Us for about $7.00... but they are worth the investment and very easy to clean. Little ones are constantly "missing the mark" with their food (especially when trying out utensils) and can easily pick it up out of their "trough" with these bibs. They are awesome... my youngest even saves some food in his bib and wears it around the yard snacking out of it...
- If your little one keeps sliding down in his/her high chair, you can use bathtub appliques or a rubber sink mat on the seat to stop the slipping.
- With particularly messy meals (e.g. spaghetti), toddler hands get so messy and greasy they can barely hold their cups without it slipping out of their hands all the time. Wide rubber bands around the cup will make gripping it much easier.
- My favorite summertime tip is to freeze grapes and berries and let the kids enjoy these as a treat...throw a handful of frozen fruit chunks in a baggy or tupperware and the children will be quite content munching on those.
- Also, if it's at all possible, starting a little vegetable garden really helps kids to eat more greens. They get a particular joy from picking their own snap-peas or digging up their own carrots to eat. It's a wonderful opportunity for them to see the concept of growing and food production as a gift from God.
-Ellie
Labels: useful ideas
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9:31 AM ::
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