Raising skillful kitchen kids is a good way to equip them with a much needed life skill for survival, meal planning and preparation!
Meeting your child’s nutritional needs can seem difficult at times, especially when you are dealing with a picky eater or a busy body who will not sit down long enough to eat two bites of food.
Making food more fun can increase your child’s interest in food and encourage them to try new foods. This requires creativity and perhaps a little patience but simply involving your children in meal preparation could be the trick to improving their eating habits.
Firstly it is important to create a set routine for a meals. Give meals and snacks at the same time everyday. It is important to serve meals and snacks at a table. Children need to be taught healthy eating behaviour just as they are taught any other good behaviour expected of them.
Ask your child for meal suggestions and include them in menu planning but mom must have the final say. Children do not have the knowledge, nor the desire to meet their nutritional needs. Involving children in meal or menu planning presents the opportunity to discuss new foods and the importance of eating a variety of foods before they find these foods on their plates. This should go along way to avoiding dinner table battles.
Involving children in the preparation of snacks and meals will prepare them for the meal time ahead. If your child is too small to chop or peel foods, encourage him/her to make faces or cars with their finger snacks. This will keep your child at the snack table long enough to at least consider eating the food on the plate.
Task ideas:
- Growing veggies
- Menu planning
- Grocery shopping (with the menu)
- Setting the table
- Rinsing veggies
- Peeling veggies
- Chopping veggies
- Mashing potatoes
- Grating
- Stirring
- Shaping meatballs
- Measuring liquids
- Making soup
- Making popcorn
- Reading recipes
- Finding recipes
Download “This weeks dinner menu” template for your menu planning sessions! Find an example of a nutritious week.
