Tips to Let Kids Enjoy Their Meals At School

 Any parent with young children would admit that nothing can be more mentally draining than going through the painstaking process of preparing healthy meals for their kids’ baon.

Unfortunately, a lot of little fussy eaters have a tendency to wrinkletheir noses, make faces, or deliberately gag on their food and bring home their baon. Thus, every meal has the potential of becoming a battle between you and your children. This shouldn’t be the case!Meal time is NEVER meant to become a fight.

Revive the fun in your child’s lunchtime! Accept the stage where your kids are s-l-o-w-l-y learning to adjust to a new school-year and to eating packed lunch with foods that are new to them, and save yourself from losing your sanity over unfinished food. Here  are parenting hacks that may help:

Hack #1: Little eaters need rules

Granted, it’s a parent’s instinct to set rules and standards for thekids. But there will always be a part of you that’s afraid of being too stiff because you don’t want your children to rebel. You know what?The whole “rules = rebellion” belief is a myth. Studies say moms and dads who set ground rules for their children are also thewarmest of parents.

Don’t hesitate to start a “No-Thank-You Bite Rule” for your little picky-eaters as early as now. If they say no from eating the meal, require them to at least take one big bite or two small bites of the food. That way, you will still get to make them have some food in their stomach for the remainder of their classes. Who knows, theymight realize they are hungry and like their baon after all.

Here’s the catch: warm parents set rules. Controlling parents rub rules on the faces of their children. This calls for balance. Loosen up! Let go of the all-mighty “Clean-Your-Plate Rule” you grew up with. Stop forcing your kids to eat everything, even the small bits to pieces, just to win the power-struggle over food.

Children know when they are full so allow them to stop eating when they want to. To avoid food wastage, serve them small portions but give them an opportunity to ask for more. Make their mealtime at school a way to strengthen your bond and instill independence in them, not to create gaps.

Hack #2: Welcome kids in the kitchen

Invite your kids to help out in the kitchen. By doing this, you’ll give them an idea what it takes to prepare their food. Letting them helpand allowing them to frequently assist you in the kitchen will make them want to try and sample the food they’ve helped prepare.

Hack #3: Be creative!

Presentation is key to making a meal more enjoyable. Children, being very observant, may be more persuaded to eat if what they see looks attractive. This is also one way of masking nourishing ingredients for your little ones.

The best hiding options? Grate, wrap, blend, or mix!

What comes in handy for all the aesthetically pleasing healthy mealsis an equally attractive food container. Tupperware Brands introduces its Small Square Rounds to solve that for you. This is downright perfect for starting up a kitchen collection, too!

The Small Square Rounds have virtually airtight seals that keep food fresh and flavorful. With a tab on the seal for easy opening, this food container is also modular and stackable. You may use it in the fridge, bring to outdoor activities, or use for organizing. TheSmall Square Rounds comes in four great colors: lime aid, grape fizz, pink punch, and orange peel.

              

             

Mealtime is not just about healthy eating; it also entails taking in thewater your body needs! Pair up your kids’ Tupperware Small Square Rounds with the Kids Eco Bottle. This comes with a sipper seal spout for convenient drinking and a tight-screw-on cap that prevents leaks. Made of safe, non-toxic materials, the Kids Eco Bottle has two fun character shapes: a frog in lime aid color and a purlicious (purple) penguin.

Make it a habit to prepare well-balanced and healthy meals and get your kids involved. Don’t forget to brighten up children’s luncheswith Tupperware’s Small Square Rounds and the Kids Eco Bottleso you can make every mealtime at school fun and meaningful for your kids.

Tips to Encourage Toddlers to Eat Well

If there is one thing I am proud of about Enzo, it is that he loves eating. Hubby and I does not have any problems with him being a picky eater because he loves to explore different tastes and eats almost anything. By anything, means vegetables, fruits, and meat, etc. He just enjoys eating and he prefers eating full meals than snacks. What even amazes me and hubby is that he can stay put during meal times and would also choose to eat first before playing.

Here are some proof he really loves food: 

So now, I would like to share with all of you some of my strategies and tips on encouraging our toddlers to eat and enjoy food. Hopefully, some of these might help you in managing your picky eaters. 

1. Let them experience food. Food has to be a happy and enjoyable experience for children. When Enzo was little I let him touch and hold his food because that is part of the whole food experience. Yes it will be messy but as children touch the texture and consistency of the food will they have an appreciation of it. Let them hold and touch their food as long as their hands are clean. Don't mind the mess and focus on the experience.

2. Let them eat on their own. As soon as Enzo could grip, I let him use his own utensils. We bought his own plate, bowl, spoon, and fork. It was difficult for him at first but now he is getting the hang of it. Plus he loves his independence on eating in his own plate. We also feed him during meal times just to make sure he gets to eat but he still has his own plate.

3. Hands off the sweets first. When Enzo started eating we made an agreement not to expose him on sweets and sugars just yet. Both me and hubby are a sweet tooth so we figured he might be one too. The only problem we wanted to prevent is that he'll always choose the sweet rather than the healthy ones. Now that he's going two we give him just a little bit of sweet stuff but not too much. I think it proved effective because he prefers to eat meals than chocolates or candies. 

4. Shared experience. Meal time is family time. Make sure the family eats together because children learn through imitation. If they see their parents eatig vegetables and any food on the table then they will also have the same perception. Parenta are their role models so lets model a healthy eater as well.

5. Make food appealing and expose them to a wide variety of food. This one is still a challenge for me but what looks good in the eyes can be good for the tummy. If children see their food well presented and appealing they will be more interested to eat  it right? Let's try to make an effort in food presentation too!;) Get inspired by Bento Mamas or NanaysLuncheswithLove they have a lot of cute bento meals for children. 

For now, I am grateful for Enzo being a foodie at an early age and hopefully he'll continue to grow as such. 

Do you have other useful tips to encourage toddler to eat? Share them with me.