The experience of eating at the dining table with your little one will be both fun and troublesome for you. It is very difficult to get a child to sit still in a chair while eating.
In a moment the children would immediately move, running to another room.
Actually eating at the dinner table is a simple thing that needs to be accustomed to.
Even though it looks trivial, these habits can strengthen the child’s relationship with parents, improve communication skills, and build discipline in children.
Quoting from jocormack.com, a good time for your little one to sit down to eat together at the dining table is more than 20 minutes. According to research conducted, there are more positive effects obtained when children with an average duration of 19.9 minutes. The effect is very different from that of children, whose average time is 16.4 minutes.
Then how do you get your little one to sit for that long if he hasn’t moved in 5 minutes? Don’t worry Mom, Thevolume.net has the right way to help you.
With the right guidance and patience, Mom can certainly get used to her little one doing this.
Come on, see a summary of how to get children to eat at the following table.
Serve food in a fun way
A casual dining atmosphere can be one of the reasons why children don’t like to sit still at the dinner table. To overcome this, Mom needs to make eating more enjoyable.
Mom can do this by decorating the food you serve with vegetables of various colors and cute shapes. Or maybe by playing a simple game at mealtime, like guessing the color or name of the food on the plate.
You don’t have to be creative all the time to make mealtime fun. Simply making a variety of menus and fun delivery methods will certainly make children interested in joining mealtimes at the dinner table with you.
Choose your little one’s favorite food menu
kids breakfast before going to school
One way to attract your little one’s attention to stay at the dinner table is to provide the food he likes.
Mom can choose foods that are safe, suitable and she likes. Seeing his favorite food available on the dining table of course made him choose to silently enjoy it. Who can’t stand to see their favorite food on the dining table?
Mom can also add other foods such as vegetables and fruit to complement the nutrition and nutrition of the little one. Also provide eating utensils according to their needs, Mom.
Invite children to help prepare food
Getting children involved in the meal-preparing process can make them more appreciative of mealtime at the dinner table.
Even when children are young, they can help with simple things, such as helping to pour vegetables into bowls or setting up spoons and forks. If they can’t, they can also watch you cook the food you want to eat later.
The fact that being involved in food preparation will make children feel proud of their work. This will make children appreciate food more when it is served and eaten later. No wonder this makes them want to enjoy food at the dinner table in peace.
Open with small talk
Kids love to talk, don’t they? And here’s what you can do to make your mealtime with your little one even more enjoyable.
When dining at the dinner table, Mom can warm the atmosphere with small talk with her little one. Ask about your little one’s fun experiences during the day, the movies he likes, or anything else that catches their eye.
Talks that attract children’s attention will keep them enjoying conversations with you at the dinner table. No wonder this method is a simple and effective way to keep children quiet at the dinner table.
Oh yeah, just pay attention not to talk while eating, okay?
Allow children to bring toys
For your little one, toys seem to be very important valuables. Not only entertaining him, but toys also seem to be his friends. No wonder he always wants to carry toys everywhere, including when eating.
To make him want to stay at the dinner table, Mom can actually allow your child to bring toys. Launching from mykidslickthebowl.com, bringing their favorite toys such as dolls or toy cars can make your little one want to sit quietly at the dining table.
If you intend to do so, set definite rules, such as only allowing them to bring 1 toy and they can’t exchange it when mealtime has started.
Exemplify this habit in children
Mom and Dad are role models for children, and this also applies when you are at the dinner table.
When children can not be silent at the dinner table, parents can show them how to behave well. You should not eat while doing other activities, such as holding a cellphone.
Focus and set a good example for children to make the best use of mealtimes.
When you can do it well, then the children will also imitate the same thing. They will also get used to sitting quietly at the dining table.
Finally, considering that the child you are dealing with is still very young, you may need to be more realistic and understand their condition. Mom and Dad can’t really expect the kids to sit still eating in about 20 minutes.
Those are some ways to teach children to eat at the dinner table with the family. Surely there are occasional distractions that make them leave the dining table. That’s why the success of my child’s silence for a moment deserves your appreciation. This will later encourage the child to repeat the same thing.
