Introduction: The Playful Path to Healthy Eating
Getting your toddler to eat a piece of broccoli or green vegetables can be as frustrating as getting a cat to bathe. Right? But what if you could teach your child to love healthy eating without a fight? What if mealtimes could become fun learning opportunities your child looks forward to? And what if they could lead to a lifetime of good eating choices?
All it takes is showing your toddler that food can be fun, taste good, and even a little adventure. So, how can you make healthy eating feel like playtime for your child?
1. Why Start Early? The Power of Toddler Taste Buds
The fact of the matter is that it’s much easier to start early. Think about it: toddlers are like little sponges. They pick up on everything you say, everything you do, and – yes – everything you eat.
Introduce them to a broad palette of flavors as early as possible, and you’ll increase your chances of your little one replicating your habits soon after (this is not to mention the happy side-effect of sitting at the dinner table watching them joyfully dip a finger into your salad and eating it with relish).
Their taste buds have only started to develop at this age, and they’re much more adventurous when trying new things, especially if you’re enjoying the fruits of your labor with them.
In addition, those miniature, youthful bodies need the proper sustenance for growth and development. Nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats help produce strong bones, enhance brainpower, and keep their energy consistent (so they can keep up with their antics!).
Still, how do you get your child to start clamoring for carrots and broccoli when sugars seem to come with a laser-guided, taste-seeking missile? Strategy, perhaps?
2. Making Food Fun: The Power of Play
Play is a favorite activity of toddlers, so bring play into the kitchen. As difficult as it is to believe, one of the best ways to excite them about healthy foods is to make food fun. Seriously, you want them to eat vegetables? Just SNEAK them into places where vegetables are not supposed to go!
Here are a few playful ideas:
Food Faces: Make lunchtime the art project of the day. Arrange slices of cucumber for the eyes, a cherry tomato for the nose, and a mouth of bell pepper. Let your toddler help you create these funny food faces on his plate, and then gobble them up!
Rainbow Plates: Tots are crazy for bright colors! Have your toddler select a few foods that make a ‘rainbow’ on a plate ‒ red strawberries, orange carrots, yellow bell peppers ‒ red foods, orange foods, yellow foods! The more colors, the better!
Form It Up: Use your cookie cutters to cut shapes out of sandwiches and fruits and veggies. Better yet, give puppy chow a shape of its own – turning it into a star, a heart, a dinosaur, or anything else you and your kids can imagine. Instantly, you make a scary, lobotomizing food into a fun and playful one.
Name Game: Give the food some fun or magical name – little trees instead of broccoli, dinosaur food instead of spinach – the healthiest foods become something to which kids may aspire
When you make mealtime playful, you refocus attention from ‘I don’t like that’ to ‘What can we see here?’
3. Set a Good Example: Monkey See, Monkey Do
One good thing about toddlers is that they’re easily copy-cats. So, when they see you having and liking healthy foods, they’ll be much more likely to give these a go. This makes family mealtimes doubly important.
Children learn that eating together, sharing, and eating the same foods as the family is normal, natural, and enjoyable simply by observing you doing the same. You don’t need to convince your child to eat it; just munch away happily. Mindful interaction between you and your child is quiet parenting, present but not intrusive.
Moreover, make sure your own language about foods is upbeat. Instead of saying, ‘I don’t really like spinach, and I have to make myself eat it,’ try, ‘Spinach makes me feel strong and healthy.’ This upbeat message will register with your toddler, who’ll soon associate good vibes with healthy food.
4. Get Them Involved: Mini Chefs in the Making
Toddlers are also into power struggles, so hand them over and let them learn to control their food. If we give them some responsibility, such as picking out groceries or helping us prepare the evening meal, there’s a greater chance they’ll want to eat what’s on their plates for the simple reason that they helped to create it.
Here’s how to do it:
Grocery shopping trips: Take your toddler shopping with you. Get them to pick fruits and vegetables – ‘Do you want apples or bananas?’ Allow them to make choices and feel like they’re making decisions.
Kitchen Helper: Put away puttable-away items, and let your toddler rinse veggies, tear lettuce, or stir ingredients. Toddlers love to help, and I’ll probably be more excited to eat what they’ve helped make.
Garden Together: If you have space, do so: let your toddler help you grow a windowbox of herbs, small potato plants – anything to get an idea of planting, germinating, care and hopefully, something to nibble on soon enough.
These activities make healthy eating less like a ‘rule’ and more like a fun project you’re doing together.
5. Balance, Don’t Ban: Teaching Moderation
It’s understandably tempting to take a hard line on healthy eating when your toddler doesn’t seem to understand, but banning treats can end up working against you.
Instead of falling into what can seem like psychological ‘forbidden fruit’, help your toddler understand balance by emphasizing that while an occasional cookie or scoop of ice cream is excellent, those samples will be just that unless most of his day is filled with healthier options.
Particularly with toddlers, the ‘sometimes food’ and ‘anytime food’ method often works well. You can tell them that you have the foods that are good for us – fruits, veggies, and whole grains, which are our ‘anytime food’ and are suitable for growing. And then you have sweets and chips, which are ‘sometimes foods’ that we like to have, but not every day.
This way, you’re not giving junk food the aura of a magical forbidden treasure – in their minds, they’ll understand that it’s part of the experience but not the show’s star.
6. The Power of Repetition: Don’t Give Up
Everyone knows toddlers can be notoriously picky about new foods – especially if they have tried it and decided it’s not for them. However, do not let this put you off by offering new foods for them to enjoy, as it can take 10 or 15 offerings of a new food before a child consents to try it. It does help to be patient and persevering.
But the first time they say no, that isn’t the end. If they turn it down one time, try it in another way – roasted, steamed, with a light sprinkling of Parmesan on top, eaten in a soup. The more they encounter it, the less scary it gets, and one day, you might just find your kids eating it.
Similarly, don’t make mealtime a power struggle – if they’re not in the mood for something, don’t push them. Keep it upbeat and see if they’ll try it again at the next mealtime.
7. Healthy Snacking: The Secret Weapon
Toddlers are natural snackers, which is to your advantage—healthy snacking is a great way to reinforce good eating habits and ensure your child isn’t missing out on nutrients between meals.
Keep snacks simple and nutrient-dense. A few ideas:
– Apple slices with peanut butter
– Yogurt with fresh berries
– Carrot sticks with hummus
– Whole grain crackers with cheese
You’re giving them these types of snacks so that their little bellies are filled with good fuel, keeping their energy level steady and helping prevent those dreaded toddler meltdowns.
8. Celebrating Wins: Keep It Positive
Finally, remember to celebrate the small victories. Did your child take a nibble of a new vegetable? Bravo! Toast his or her tastebuds with a congratulation on trying a new food, even if it ended up on the green napkin. ‘You-or-What’ shouldn’t be the motto in the home. Instead, says Ivess-Brochu, try wielding the velvet hammer of positive reinforcement.
Research shows that it does more to encourage good habits – and help them stick – than nagging.
Don’t get hung up on the minutiae of getting it right. Some days are better than others, and that’s OK. But you’re laying the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating, and that’s what matters.
Conclusion: Turning Toddlers into Tiny Food Explorers
A key ingredient in teaching toddlers about healthy eating is to make it fun, relaxed, and playful. Teaching your toddler about balance and nutritious foods is about building a solid base for your child to build on as she grows into her own healthy eating story.
The key is consistency and flexibility – imperfection is inevitable, and that’s OK; we’re all just doing our best. Above all, keep experimenting, keep it positive, and before you know it, your little wood-chewer will happily eat his lollipop!”