How to Make Eating Fun for Kids

Vegetables, soups, and anything with cream of mushroom in it are some of the foods that kids typically refuse to eat. So how do parents get their children to eat what has been prepared? Make eating fun.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Imagination

Food, Folks, and Fun!

1. Establish two rules: No toys at the table and no TV. The TV must be turned off while you're dining. This is family time which is not to be interrupted by TV or by a Power Ranger falling in your soup.
2. Make exceptions if absolutely necessary. If a child must have a toy or favorite stuffed animal with him at the table make sure that the stuffed animal sits properly and eats his food just as the rest of the family is required to do. This can be a great way to encourage your children to eat their veggies. If Mr. Bear likes broccoli and wants to eat it they will follow suit.
3. Have fun. Make eating a game by turning it into a good-natured competition.
4. See who can eat his corn first. Then move on to the potatoes, the meat, and so on.
5. If there is a certain food that the children don't like let them use their imagination, and you use yours too, and pretend that the food is something other than what it is. Imagine that your beanie-weenies are triple-decker chocolate sundaes with sprinkles and a cherry.
6. Pretend to intercept a secret message (via email, snail mail or phone) informing you and your children that the bad guys (pick any villains that your kids are familiar with) are coming and the bad guys don't want the children to eat their food because, if they do, the children will grow too strong and be able to defeat the bad guys. "You must, under all circumstances, finish your food. We have to defeat the bad guys."
7. Pretend that the phone rings. It's a call from the President or from someone in outer space or a favorite cartoon character telling them about the importance of eating the right food. "What a coincidence," says Superman. "I am eating cauliflower, too. Oh, I love cauliflower. You know why?" Tell them how cauliflower benefits them.
8. Act as if every bite of food gives them a special super power.
9. Pretend to notice, as they eat their food, that they are growing before your eyes. When they stop eating, they start to shrink, so they have to keep eating.
10. Suggest that when they finish eating their potatoes, they will be able to float through the air. Anything is possible in the world of imagination.
11. Above all, have fun, be innovative, and let your imagination--and their imaginations--soar!