ADVICE RATING |
 4.60 (Highly recommend) from 13 votes (967 Visits) |
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Making eating just a little more fun |
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by Kristen  (November 2006) (rank 165th) |
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We are having some troubles in Toddlerville these days. Ethan just doesn't seem to want to eat all the healthy things he should eat. We have a few tricks up our sleeves and they seem to be working.
- Give food in a non-traditional way. When jenlemen was over the other night, she gave Ethan some blueberries in a cup. He spent the better part of the evening "drinking" the blueberries. He thought this was hilariously fun because he usually drinks his milk or water from a cup. This gave him so much entertainment and he managed to eat lots of healthy blueberries too.
- Allow for a little adventure. Ethan then poured the cup of blueberries into the "trunk" of the car he was driving around. Luckily the trunk was a clean place for his food and he had his snacks on the go. He then asked for some crackers to push around in the back of his dump truck. I have noticed that he eats a lot more when he is given a little freedom. We do put the dog outside though because otherwise we aren't exactly sure WHO is eating so healthy.
- Don't be afraid of the mess. I started to let Ethan peel his own bananas. Now that's nutrition for him and entertainment for anyone watching. He feels autonomy and messy, a great combination that normally results in his eating an entire banana.
This may violate the recommendation that your child should only eat food at the table, but sometimes it's better to sacrifice decorum knowing that your fussy eater is actually eating. What kind of things to you do to get your kids to eat the things they need to eat?
I bet my husband is waiting for the day my son can ballance a plate on his knees so they can sit in front of the telly watching some man movie together... 
