UltimateMama is a strong advocate of involving your kids in meal creation.
For toddlers or young children, you can help them pour and stir as your sous-chef. Or, just give them a wooden spoon and a bowl and let them pretend to be an executive chef. Buy or make a little apron for them to really get into the spirit!
Older children could help with measuring. A valuable math lesson could be taught while cooking. Also, if you involve them with the cooking process it is an immediate science lesson as well!
Let your kids participate in the kitchen – supervised of course!
Once again, UlimateMama cannot stress routine enough. Feed your child at the same times each day!
When your child is eating solid food you and your childcare provider should record
exactly what the child ate at each meal.
It is especially important in the early months or years to pay attention to your child’s
reactions after meals when new foods are introduced.
– did the child seem to like the taste?
– did the child enjoy the texture?
– did the child have any adverse reactions or allergies?
(rash, diarrhea,
gas, constipation, etc.)
Make notes in a daily log book
providing details on the child’s eating habits.
Samples of such notes as follows:
– the child ate light at breakfast but had a hearty appetite
at lunch and dinner
– the child ate all of his meat at lunch
– the child didn’t eat much cauliflower at dinner
– the child seemed to enjoy the pureed green beans
introduced at lunch today
– the child likes the pureed butternut squash over the
jarred butternut squash
– the child ate the pieces of cheese but threw all of the
peas off the high chair’s tray table