How to Teach Your Toddler 10 Lessons at Meal Time

Toddlers have a lot to learn and meal time is a great time to teach them. Even the busiest toddler will hold still for a lesson when it involves food. Take advantage of the captive audience!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Toddler
• Finger Foods
• See Tools for Each Lesson

1. Up & Down ~ Teach Up and Down with food. Feed child one piece or spoonful at a time. Raise food high in the air and say "Up! Up! Up! Up!" in a silly, high pitched voice. Lower the food and say, "Down! Down! Down!" in a low pitched voice.
2. Left & Right ~ Use finger foods. Place one piece of finger food on the left side of the tray, say "Left" in a silly voice. Repeat with the right side.
3. Shapes ~ Teach shapes with paper napkins. The napkin is a square. Fold in half diagonally for a triangle. Fold lengthwise for a rectangle. Try other shapes.
4. Colors ~ Teach colors by hanging similar items of various colors around the dining area. Examples would be boxes, dishes cups. Make sure to use different colors of the SAME object so your child does not confuse the name of the color for the name of the object.
5. More? Enough? ~ Stop feeding your child periodically throughout the meal. Ask "More?" and "Enough?" Ask early in the meal when you know your child is still hungry. When they don't answer your question, say "More? Okay, here's more." and continue feeding.
6. Open & Shut ~ Wear a shirt, sweater or jacket that opens in the front. Open the shirt and say "Open". Close it quickly and say, "Shut!" Do the same by opening and closing your mouth.
7. 1, 2, 3 ~ Use finger foods to teach counting. Start with 2 pieces of finger food. Count as you place each piece down. Do this while your toddler's mouth is already full so they won't grab the food before you have the chance to demonstrate counting. After a week or so, move up to 3 pieces. Do this at every meal.
8. Full & Empty ~ Using identical see-through cups, fill one and leave the other empty. Place both on the table. Periodically direct your child's attention to the cups throughout the meal. Turn the empty cup upside down to demonstrate that there is nothing in it. Present each cup to your child as either "Full" or "Empty".
9. First & Last ~ As you begin each course of the meal, announce "First" as you give your child his/her first bite of food. As each course ends, announce, "Last Bite!"
10. Big & Small ~ Demonstrate the difference between big and small with finger foods. Vary the size of each piece of sandwich or meat as you cut it. Set two different sizes before your child. Point to the big piece and say "BIG" in a silly voice. Repeat with "Small". This is best done while your child's mouth is already full so they won't reach for food before you have finished.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep learning free of pressure.
• Be patient. It can take weeks or months to learn a concept.
• Be careful when cutting finger foods for demonstration. Make sure shapes and sizes are appropriate for your child so they will not choke.