Let them play with food? Are you kidding me?!
JAN
15
2008
Staying home all day gets redundant. FAST.
How many of us know the words to EVERY song on Noggin, VeggieTales, or Barney? Baby Einstein gets old after the 500th viewing. You can play blocks, sing songs, read books, but at some point, you need something new to do. When their too small to paint, or play “cut and paste” what can you do? You’ve longed for the day that they could sit up and play; but their still not big enough to do “cool” stuff.
Well, if they can sit upright in a high chair, you can play: with food!
Here’s a couple of fun ideas to entertain your toddlers in a new way, while stimulating their senses by teaching them about different textures (and maybe a few new tastes).
1. Biscuits! Let your toddler play with biscuit dough. You probably don’t really need to cook the whole can. Or simply mix some water and flour until it’s a nice doughy consistency. My girls used to love squooshing and pushing them around on their trays while I fixed supper.
2. Puddin’ Paintin’! Let them use their fingers, or use their teething biscuits as a paintbrush. Sammy l-o-v-e loved swirling, smearing, tasting and rubbing it in between her fingers. (Think toes in mud, yeah it feels that good)
3. Beans! Beans, Beans their good for your heart, the more you eat… (sorry, wrong blog!) Anyway, beans are great! For those moments you need to turn your bag, try putting dry beans and/or rice in ziploc baggies and let them shake them, poke them, and push them around. For some one-on-one time, fill a bowl. When was the last time you covered your hand in bowl of dry beans. It feels so very cool! I got this idea from our state fair, the kids couldn’t get enough of playing in the buckets of beans, seeds, grains and rice.
Last but not least… the most fun… for those starting on table food. It’s messy but it really helped my little ones get adjusted to eating veggies like brussel sprouts, brocolli, butter beans.
4. Veggie Time! Let them swirl their “greens” in with some mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. The contrast of colors will keep them interested and when they lick their little fingers the veggies are there.
I’ll admit there is <i>one small side effect</i> of all this playing. My girls still pick up their green beans like it’s a paint brush and paint ketchup on their chicken before they eat it. Hey, their eating roasted chicken and green beans, who am I to complain.
Have fun, get messy, and never underestimate the power of baby shampoo!
