Let Them Play With Their Food!

As if I didn’t have enough on my plate already, I’m currently working through a Mindful Based Stressed Relief certification. I must admit, I’m fully bought into the whole “be present in the moment” state of mind and look for as many opportunities as possible to be mindful. I’ve applied a lot of what I’ve learned to eating and am even coupling the concepts of Mindful Eating with my Intermittent Fasting regimen. My daughters mirror just about everything I do, so when they saw me really savoring my food, they wanted to as well. Hilariously, a four and two year olds’ idea of mindful eating involved lots of playing and very little “mindfulness.”

I must admit, I was highly annoyed at first, but it didn’t take long to realize this was a valuable opportunity to turn a dinnertime free-for-all, into a learning experience the whole family could enjoy. We focus our play on mindfulness, math, and creative expression.

Now before you roll your eyes, hear me out! Interactive meals with families have been prove to be beneficial for the health and development of children. One study out of Michigan Sate found that eating together as a family, without the influences of electronic devices, helped children communicate better and make healthier eating choices later in life. Another study by the National Council of Substance Abuse and Addiction found that children that ate regular meals with their parents had reduced rates of smoking, drinking, and drug use once the children became teenagers.

All this sounds well and good, but I highly doubt Michigan State University or the National Council of Substance Abuse and Addiction took into account the unreliable nature of toddlers at mealtime. Let’s face it, there’s a certain magic to handing a screaming two year old a tablet and some chicken nuggets for a few blessed moments of quiet at dinner. I’ve been there many times…. just this week. No shame, mommas! No shame!

That being said, there are are some tricks I’ve learned over the past few weeks that have made mealtime an enjoyable experience for the whole family. I even have my picky four year old running to the table to enjoy the dinner activities. She feels she’s able to play with her food, while I’m enjoying watching her learn and experiment. Who am I to tell her it’s educational?

When I say I let my daughters “play with their food”, I want to clarify it’s guided, structured play. I (rarely) get food on my ceiling and almost nothing is wasted. Full and fair disclosure, this doesn’t always work on busy weeknights when we are juggling work, multiple activities, bath time, and bed routines. This kind of purposeful eating is ideal for nights when you can slow down just a little bit, and fully appreciate the time together as a family. Alternatively, once your kids get the hang of it, it’s a great distractor when you are trying to cook dinner, but can set them up with some veggies to play with before the rest of the meal is served.

Lastly, I like to ask my girls to describe their foods using the five senses.

• What do they feel? I encourage them to hold the food item in their hand. Is it hot? Soft? Hard? Wet? Dry?
• What do they smell? If they break the food item apart, does it smell stronger? Do they like the smell?
• What do they hear? This one in particular is fun because it involves the girls rolling the food item in their hand trying to get a sound out of it. If it doesn’t make a sound, I encourage them to make one up and I’ve heard all kinds of unique exclamations come out of steak and tomatoes.
• What do they see? I ask them to describe the item in detail from the color, to the texture, to the shape. Does the shape remind them of anything non-food related?
• What do they taste? The last thing I have them do is taste the food. I ask them to describe what about the taste do they like? When was the last time they tasted something similar? Are there specific flavors they can identify?

These dinner experiences have made mealtime much more mindful because we are living in the moment. Gone is the stress of eating all their meal and me fighting them to finish their veggies. Gone is the battle of getting them to stop their game and get to the table. I’ve even been able to give the girls a handful of veggies while I’m cooking and they’ve come up with their own games so I can cook undisturbed. Bonus, they’ve eaten a serving or two of veggies before we’ve even sat down together. In just the past few weeks, I’ve doubled their vegetable intake, and have dramatically reduced the mealtime tears over finishing a plate of food they loved last week, but absolutely hate this week. (Why are toddlers like this?!) I feel good about playing with their food because they are exploring new cuisines and honing their communication and core skills. And of course, there’s never a bad time for raspberry fingers!