Teaching play skills during daily routines can be an easy way for parents to provide opportunities for play while not sacrificing their responsibilities. In this series, we’ll talk about how you can incorporate play into meals, bath time, diaper changes, and chores.
Play for children during daily routines, including meal time, can be a delightful and educational experience. Allowing for playtime during meal and snack time routines not only makes the process more enjoyable but also encourages healthy eating habits. Children can engage in various playful activities, such as creating imaginative stories with their food, arranging vegetables into fun shapes, or even turning mealtime into a mini science experiment by mixing colors and textures.
This playful approach not only keeps kids entertained but also allows them to explore the sensory aspects of food, fostering a positive relationship with what they eat. It also provides an opportunity for families to share laughs and creativity at the dinner table, creating cherished memories around mealtime. When play becomes an integral part of the dining experience, children can safely explore new food options with no pressure to “take one bite”.
Here are 5 ways to make meal time more playful:
1. Make a Rainbow
Find foods in a variety of colors to recreate the rainbow. Design rainbows on your plate, push the foods onto a skewer in rainbow order, or sort foods in a ice cube tray according to colors.
2. Food Builder
Cut veggies into different shapes to build lots of fun pictures. Use carrot sticks to build a house, asparagus to make a forest, or round cucumber slices with yellow pepper sticks to make the sun. Get creative! See if you can guess what the other person is building next!
3. Design a Face
Waffles and pancakes make the perfect foundation for face-building! Use fruits or meats to create funny faces on their plate before digging in. For lunch or dinner time, give your child a variety of shapes to create a face using a round plate. Bonus: This is a great time for talking about emotions while you make different faces!
4. Get Crafty
Do you remember the Ants on a Log food craft with celery, peanut butter, and raisins? Well, the internet is bursting with equally cute food crafts to try with your child.
5. Paint a Masterpiece
Use puree foods (like yogurt or mashed fruit) or sauces (like ketchup or honey mustard) to “paint”. Your child can use a paintbrush, fork, pretzel stick, or cucumber to “paint” a masterpiece on their plate.
Playing during meal times doesn’t always have to be taboo. It’s essential to strike a balance between play and manners at the table, but incorporating playful elements can transform boring meal routines into engaging experiences for children. These experiences can lay a foundation for positive associations with healthy eating habits.
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