I don’t know about you, but getting my on-the-go babes to eat is like pulling teeth. I can’t get them to sit down long enough for them to eat, much less for my husband and I to actually enjoy a meal. I’ve been trying to find easy and fun ways to get the girls to eat this summer, and having little picnics in different places has been the jackpot for us. How do you get your toddler to eat when they’re so busy all of the time?
The girls got this cute little picnic table for their birthdays and we’ve been using it like crazy!! It’s the cutest and they feel like such big girls sitting on it!
Giving kids the freedom to sit and choose what they eat is so important to get them to eat. Now I’m not saying that you need to give them free reign over everything at meal time, but choices are so helpful in getting them to eat. I usually ask “do you want this or this?” and give them two choices between something I want them to have. For example: this lunch, I asked if Laikyn wanted peanut butter with honey or peanut butter with jelly, and also asked if she wanted green grapes or purple grapes. She got to choose, and felt like she really had a say in what she ate.
We’re also about to order this plate for meal time, because who doesn’t want to play games while they eat?
Here are some helpful tips to get your toddler to eat at mealtime:
- Give Your Toddler Choices – Pick two things for them to choose from that you’d like them to eat: would you like squash or zucchini? It’s your choice…do you want apples or oranges?
- Take Mealtime Away from the Table – Pick a fun place to eat every once in a while. Having a picnic, taking your food outside on a blanket, going to eat at a restaurant or the park, etc. will mix things up a bit! We use this picnic table and this picnic blanket.
- Use Fun Plates/Utensils – These by B.Box are so cute and bright! Giving your toddler something inviting to put their food on will help them to remember that eating is fun!
- Find Fun Recipes – I made these little peanut butter and jelly “sushi” rolls for lunch. There are TONS of recipes on Pinterest for fun toddler meals. For most meals, my girls eat what we are eating. I try to do something more “toddler friendly” for lunch, but they always eat what we are eating for supper. This Pic’s Peanut Butter is so good and all natural!
- Reward Them – Not every time they eat, but if you notice they do a great job eating…praise them for it. Praising for good behavior goes a lot further than scolding for bad behavior. Find something they are doing well (sitting nicely, drinking their water, eating one of the foods on the plate) and tell them what a good job they are doing! Sometimes, I give a little reward at the end like a cookie or something fun for dessert if they eat well.
- Don’t Stress – It’s okay if your toddler doesn’t eat great every meal. They are going to eat when they are hungry. If they don’t eat when we are eating, I don’t allow snacks. My girls are such snackers, and they would do that all.day.long. if I let them. If they eat their meal, they do get a snack but if they don’t…no snacking in between meals!
Sidenote: I don’t EVER give them their own meal or let them tell me they don’t like what we are having. This creates picky eaters and then you’re stuck making two different meals! Stick to your guns on this one. The only time I ever do this is if we are having something that I know is too spicy for them, or if they need to eat before the meal is ready (like when we have a dinner party, etc).
Here are some of the items we use daily for eating:
What are some ways that you get your toddler to eat? What fun recipes have you tried? I’d love to hear some other ways to make eating fun!
Even though I have these tips and try to follow them, my girls don’t always eat like they should. I’m always open to suggestions and trying to make things better each day!
Thank you to B.Box and Pic’s Peanut Butter for providing products for this post. All images, thoughts and opinions are that of my own.
