I have a 16 month old grandson who loves to eat. However, he’s not fond of sitting in a highchair and eating his food. Nope, he wants to sit on an adult’s lap and enjoy his meals being spoon fed. For some parents…mealtime is a fun time with their kids and for other’s…it can be stressful.
For the past few weeks we’ve been working with Prince and getting him (slowly but surely) to sit in his highchair for meals. Now that he’s sitting in the highchair, we’re working on ways to make mealtime fun. Here are some of the ideas that we’re using.
* Use Cookie Cutters: We’ve been using cookie cutters to cut fun shapes out of his foods and to make those foods the perfect-sized finger foods for a toddler. Try make funny-shaped French toast, pancakes, eggs, sandwiches, fresh fruit slices, fresh veggie slices, etc. by using metal-shaped cookie cutters.
* Plastic Placemats: We purchased 5 different plastic “kid-friendly” designed placemats on clearance. We cut them down a tad to fit onto the tray of his highchair. Every day we rotate out the designs to keep him interested & entertained. He enjoys looking at the bright colors, the puppy dog faces, etc.
* Functional Bibs: When it comes to bibs…we use ones that feature cute & adorable designs on them and ones that are over-sized. Parents get too stressed out if their kids make a mess on their clothing, so to avoid that stress…buy bibs that cover the entire area that you want to protect. Don’t put a tiny bib on your child and then fuss at them to hold still or to not get food onto their clothing. EVERY YOUNG CHILD WILL MAKE A MESS at MEALTIME!
* Reduce Distractions: During mealtime we turn off the TV, the music, ignore the cellphones and really concentrate on having dinner together as a family. Having everyone sit at the table together with no background distractions going on has really helped to keep Prince focused on the task of eating his food!
* Decorative Dining Sets: Investing in fun dining sets for children can really make mealtime fun! We suggest getting 4-5 different designs to keep things interesting. Kid’s deserve their own dishes, cups and utensils which are perfectly sized just for them!
When it comes to mealtime dining sets, we really love the Marcus & Marcus Eco-Friendly Bamboo 5-Piece Dining Set which comes in several different designs. Each set includes: divided plate, bowl, beverage cup, spoon and fork. Everything matches and the designs are way too cute!
For this feature we received a complimentary “animal” dining set which is great for little girls and little boys. It’s made out of eco-friendly bamboo fiber and is top-rack dishwasher safe. It’s heat resistant and biodegradable. They’re great sets for serving breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. In my honest opinion, a young child should have several of these sets to keep mealtime interesting and fun!
When it comes to mealtime with your little one…how do you like to make mealtime fun and enjoyable? Got any tips to share? Leave them in the blog’s comment form below.
Disclaimer: Shelly H. received a complimentary product to feature & review on this blog. No monetary compensation was received. Shelly’s thoughts, opinions and words about the product are 100% her own, unbiased opinion. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering our giveaways. Thanks!
I have a 3 year old grandson who lives with us. He has a special chair and table which he loves to sit at. But we all have to be sitting and ready to eat. He does not want to eat alone.
Oh, boy, I was one of those kids who just wouldn’t eat. I remember my Mom crying because I wasn’t eating & I was just confused because I wasn’t hungry, lol. Of course the doctor would tell her, “She’ll eat if she gets hungry enough.” But this was the late 60s, when women were convinced they had to be these perfect mothers who had perfect kids, lol.–So, making mealtime fun for kids might really help if they are having mealtime problems.
The decorative dining sets used to be so popular! It seemed we all had a set when we were kids to make us i guess feel like we had our ‘own’ things since we werent quite at the table . I remember having a certain cereal bowl and spoon and still have the spoon. Hubby still has his set from his Grandmother from the 60s!
These are great tips to make meal time fun for kids. i have done them all except for the cookie cutters. I shall use these when my grandchildren come to eat with us.