Tips to Let Kids Enjoy Their Meals At School
10:45:00 PM
Any
parent with young children would admit that nothing can be more mentally
draining than going through the painstaking process of preparing healthy meals
for their kids’ baon.
Unfortunately,
a lot of little fussy eaters have a tendency to wrinkle their noses, make faces,
or deliberately gag on their food and bring home their baon. Thus, every meal has the potential of becoming a battle
between you and your children. This shouldn’t be the case! Meal time is NEVER
meant to become a fight.
Revive
the fun in your child’s lunchtime! Accept the stage where your kids are
s-l-o-w-l-y learning to adjust to a new school-year and to eating packed lunch
with foods that are new to them, and save yourself from losing your sanity over
unfinished food. Here are parenting hacks that may help:
Hack #1: Little eaters need rules
Granted,
it’s a parent’s instinct to set rules and standards for the kids. But there
will always be a part of you that’s afraid of being too stiff because you don’t
want your children to rebel. You know what? The whole “rules = rebellion” belief
is a myth. Studies say moms and dads who set ground rules for their children
are also the warmest of parents.
Don’t
hesitate to start a “No-Thank-You Bite Rule” for your little picky-eaters as
early as now. If they say no from eating the meal, require them to at least
take one big bite or two small bites of the food. That way, you will still get
to make them have some food in their stomach for the remainder of their classes.
Who knows, they might realize they are hungry and like their baon after all.
Here’s
the catch: warm parents set rules. Controlling parents rub rules on the faces
of their children. This calls for balance. Loosen up! Let go of the all-mighty
“Clean-Your-Plate Rule” you grew up with. Stop forcing your kids to eat
everything, even the small bits to pieces, just to win the power-struggle over
food.
Children
know when they are full so allow them to stop eating when they want to. To
avoid food wastage, serve them small portions but give them an opportunity to
ask for more. Make their mealtime at school a way to strengthen your bond and
instill independence in them, not to create gaps.
Hack #2: Welcome kids in the
kitchen
Invite
your kids to help out in the kitchen. By doing this, you’ll give them an idea
what it takes to prepare their food. Letting them help and allowing them to
frequently assist you in the kitchen will make them want to try and sample the
food they’ve helped prepare.
 |
| photo grabbed from http://www.blog.togethercounts.com |
Hack #3: Be creative!
Presentation
is key to making a meal more enjoyable. Children, being very observant, may be more
persuaded to eat if what they see looks attractive. This is also one way of masking
nourishing ingredients for your little ones.
The best
hiding options? Grate, wrap, blend, or mix!
What
comes in handy for all the aesthetically pleasing healthy meals is an equally attractive
food container. Tupperware Brands introduces its Small Square Rounds to solve that for you. This is downright
perfect for starting up a kitchen collection, too!
The Small Square Rounds have virtually airtight
seals that keep food fresh and flavorful. With a tab on the seal for easy
opening, this food container is also modular and stackable. You may use it in
the fridge, bring to outdoor activities, or use for organizing. The Small Square Rounds comes in four great
colors: lime aid, grape fizz, pink punch, and orange peel.
Mealtime
is not just about healthy eating; it also entails taking in the water your body
needs! Pair up your kids’ Tupperware Small
Square Rounds with the Kids Eco
Bottle. This comes with a sipper seal spout for convenient drinking and a
tight-screw-on cap that prevents leaks. Made of safe, non-toxic materials, the Kids Eco Bottle has two fun character
shapes:
 |
| a frog in lime aid color |
 |
| purlicious (purple) penguin |
Make it a
habit to prepare well-balanced and healthy meals and get your kids involved. Don’t
forget to brighten up children’s lunches with Tupperware’s Small Square Rounds and the Kids Eco Bottle so you can make every mealtime
at school fun and meaningful for your kids.
About Tupperware® Brands
Tupperware Brands Philippines distributes well-loved
brands including Tupperware, Baby Care Plus+, Kids Plus+, Colour Collection,
Ivana and White Result. For your questions and inquiries on how to be a
dealer, log on to www.tupperwarebrands.ph, email us at questions@Tupperware.ph, or
call the hotline number 867-2222. Like us on Facebook.
30 comments
this is my problem with my niece and nephew... hard to encourage them to eat what we served to them .. always leaning back to junk foods... taking them to the kitchen must be a good idea... ill try it.
ReplyDeleteSame problem with my daughter. So when I try to cook something, I ask her if she wants to cook with me, and she becomes excited to taste the food we cooked ^^
DeleteI remember that when I was a kid, what I hated most about eating is that I get scared that I won't be able to finish my food. Looking back, I realize that it was mostly because we had huge plates at home so I think the colorful, smaller containers ( or even plates ) would make eating and finishing food not-so-daunting. The eco bottles would seem to work too.
ReplyDeleteTrue, colorful containers would really make the food appetizing. That's why I got my daughter a small plate with Disney Princesses on it to make her feel excited whenever we eat. :)
DeleteI don't force my kid to finish everything and I give her smaller portions. I try to avoid giving snacks at first, but if she is hungry, no harm eating healthy snacks right? My girl likes snacking on carrots and celeries. If she declares that she is full from her meal, I will encourage her to eat 3-4 more spoonfuls of food (preferably proteins more than carbs).
ReplyDeleteI also give my daughter small portions at first so there's no wasted food if she won't be able to finish it. But I taught her about finishing her food that when I'm done eating, I show her how good I am because I have a clean plate. She'll try to clean her plate as well so she can show me that she was also able to clean hers. :)
DeleteYes, getting kids to help in the kitchen is a way to get them interested in their food. Just that the cooking process will become way longer and the mess might get worse!
ReplyDeleteHaha you're right! Mess in the kitchen can be very hard to clean after cooking with the kids. :)
Deleteyes, the more kids are involved in the preparation, the eager they want to eat the food. :)
ReplyDeleteThe more mommy would also know how to cook. hehe
DeleteMy choice of food depends on what my parents eat. My mama was not much of a vegetable eater so I took after her. I do enjoy eating but I wish I ate healthier food before to train my palate to veggies now.
ReplyDeleteThat is also the reason why I started eating veggies when my daughter became a toddler.
DeleteI think this is a big problem with most kids. I know I was certainly a pain when I was a kid. These tips will definitely help! I wish someone showed this to my parents way back when I was a troublesome kid! Haha! :D
ReplyDeleteHaha good thing you accepted the fact that you were a pain in the toot of your parents. :))
Deletedefinitely some great tips! something fun like those bottles makes meals more fun
ReplyDeleteTrue, even parents like me would have so much fun with those cute bottles :)
DeleteDisappointed that it turned out to be an advertisement at the end. Anyway, it can really be a big problem when you have a picky eater child. Sometimes they remain picky up to their teens!
ReplyDeleteTrue, that's why I try making my daughter involved in the kitchen when making her meals because it makes her feel excited on what the end product would taste like. This makes her want to eat what we have prepared. :)
DeleteI feel you, we have the same problem, but I chose to give them rewards if they finished their snacks in school. - KarenT
ReplyDeleteRewards and Punishment really do work with kids :)
DeleteGood tips here. One of the things I do too - if you don't eat the main meals, or have leftovers, you don't get snacks till the next meal. Works quite well too :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip mommy :) Will try to implement that with my daughter and see how she reacts :)
DeleteThanks for the tips. I think children is attracted to colorful things and food.
ReplyDeleteThey really are. Mommies as well. ^^
DeleteI think kids are hard headed when given firm rules. I guess giving them some slack and motivation can help them do better.
ReplyDeleteTrue, they sometimes try to do what they are asked not to do. It's like they are testing parents' patience.
DeleteThese are great tips. You really have to make the food very attractive and colorful for kids. I did this with my kids and it worked.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the colors seem to make the food more appetizing for the kids :)
DeleteNice tips, I'll share this post to my daughter who happens to have a 'mapili' son.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) Hope it works for her as well ^^
Delete