How to Make Mealtimes Fun for Kids!

Ready, set, eat! We’re here to help make mealtimes fun and fruitful with your little ones (without much extra time or effort, promise!).

Notoriously contentious, mealtimes can be a pinch problematic if you’ve been blessed with kids. The thing is, finding a child who isn’t a fussy eater at some stage or other is like seeing a unicorn out in the wild: preeeeeeeetty unlikely!

But the dinner table needn’t be a battleground, and with a few easy-to-implement tips and tricks we’re here to prove it! On a good day, it could even be FUN (yes, really!). And when we say ‘easy tips and tricks’ – we mean it! We’re not about to suggest you craft entire kingdoms out of mashed potato, or source hard-to-pronounce ingredients from specialist shops. No matter how many times you’ve seen Pinterest parents promise you it’s achievable.

So how can you get your toddler to engage while eating? Let’s tuck in and find out...

Novelty plates

If ever you’ve experienced a restaurant where they have those little hand towels that grow when water is added to them, you’ll know what we mean when we say novelty at dinnertime is fun. With little ones loving anything new or unusual presented to them, try switching up how you present things. And how do you make food look fun for toddlers? Try cutting sandwiches into shapes with a cookie cutter, using that pepperoni on their pizza to make a smiley face, or even employing a little food coloring to dye a simple cheese sauce pink. We can’t promise clean plates, but we can promise at least a few moments of excitement while they explore their new, marvelous meal.

If you fancy taking things further, you could always encourage prompts from your kids. Ask them what kind of expression they’d like on their pizza (silly, happy, funny, etc.) and see if you can interpret their brief!

Themed nights

This might not be an idea for every night of the week – and we know we promised quick ideas – but every once in a while, it’s nice to think big! Pick a theme, get everyone involved and enjoy a reinvigorated family mealtime.

We love things like color-themed nights, where everything’s pink, for instance. Or, you could try a new cuisine once a week, or decide that it’s your child’s turn to pick what’s on the menu (perhaps with a carefully curated criteria, to avoid ice cream all round). If they’re old enough, they might even like to help you with parts of the meal.

Getting everyone involved, whatever their age and stage, is easy. Maybe someone can make decorations (and perhaps you’ll get five minutes’ peace while they’re at it), while someone else can be in charge of writing up menus, picking the playlist or just sticking their hands in the flour for a sensory experience!

Serving style

Most adults serve up plates of pre-portioned food to kids. But what about switching it up to serve them family-style? The clue is in the name, and the results are interesting. Not only is it fun to involve your child in serving themselves, allowing them choice over what and how much goes on their plate, but there’s also research to say that it might help them to be open to trying more foods, too.

Present platters on the table and let everyone pick what they fancy eating. You may well just see them eating something they haven’t tried before, or piling seconds happily onto their plate.

Make mealtimes playtimes

It’s time to crack out the big guns: games! There’s no greater joy than seeing your little one having fun, and we’re firm believers that mealtimes should equal good times!

Some of our favorite things to do range from coloring to guessing games. For coloring, grab a big sheet of paper and pop it under their plate like a table mat. Throw in some crayons, pens or pencils and let them get to work on their masterpiece. You might be surprised just how much they eat while they’re distracted

You could also try guessing games, where children have to name ingredients in their dinner. Or how about a dessert-themed treat; marshmallow towers?! (The latter only being allowed after they’ve eaten their veggies, of course). Grab some marshmallows and dried spaghetti strands and have each member of the family build a marshmallow tower. What will win, the best design or the tallest tower? You decide!

So, we hope you’re now filled with some creative, mealtime confidence! Before becoming parents, we probably all pictured those happy, family mealtime experiences round the table, right? Let’s make them a reality – yum!