5 Fun Ways to Manage Mealtime DistractionsGet your kids to focus on their food with these five simple but engaging methods.CREATED WITH LACTUM 3+
When your kids are distracted at mealtimes, there's a chance they don't get all the nutrition they need. Keep them excited and engaged throughout the meal with these five simple tricks:
1. Involve them in the food preparations.
Kids take pride in their accomplishments, so knowing they had a hand in creating the dish can boost their confidence. If they start getting distracted during mealtime, encourage them to talk about their role in preparing the food and what the experience was like. Not only does this turn their attention back to the meal, it also gives you an opportunity to validate their efforts.
2. Serve food in fun shapes.
Bring out the cookie cutters and use these to cut veggies into fun shapes like stars and flowers. Your kids will enjoy seeing these new shapes, and it makes eating more fun. After all, "finish all the orange stars in your plate" sounds more exciting than just "eat all your carrots".
3. Encourage them to eat a colorful plate.
Nutritionists say that a colorful plate is a sign of a well-balanced meal. If you're feeling extra artsy, take some paper plates and label them with colors like green, white, and brown. Then have your kids "color" them in by placing the food on the plate—veggies for green, rice for white, meat for brown, and so on. You can even give a prize for the most colorful plate!
4. Make it a three-course meal.
Turn ordinary mealtime into a fun fine-dining experience! Instead of placing all the dishes down on the table, bring each meal out of the kitchen one by one. The trick is to serve it with a flourish, perhaps by announcing the name of the dish with a funny accent. Tell your kids to give new names for the dishes, just for fun!
5. Turn mealtime into an adventure.
Use your kids' love of role-play to encourage them to finish their food. Tell them they'll have all the energy they need to save the world or rule a kingdom if they eat healthy. You can even ask what their next adventures will be after mealtime. This way, you feed both their imagination and their tummies.
To make sure your kids are 100% nourished*, give them Lactum 3+/ 6 with every meal so that you're sure they get the essential nutrients found in the food groups of the Food Pyramid.
* with 3 balanced meals a day
For nourishment tips and techniques, visit www.lactum3.com.