It never fails at our house that our toddler gets fussy as soon
as I start fixing dinner. Occasionally she plays with her Dad
or brothers, but often she wants Mom's company when I need
to be getting the meal ready. If I have learned anything as a
Mom, it's flexibility. To survive with your sanity intact during
the toddler years and make them more enjoyable you need to go
with the flow. I have found a few strategies that work well
to occupy a toddler and to make dinner time go smoothly.
1. Move your toddler where she can be with you, and you
can control what is happening. I move her high chair back
and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, but if
possible it would be great to have two high chairs that
can be in both places. I locate my daughter as close to where I
am working as is safe. She seems to feel she is "helping"
me, but with her in the high chair I don't worry about
hot spills or tripping over her.
2. Feed your toddler as you are making dinner. Yes,
I know, many of you will think this is strange, and
feel that everyone should eat together. Remember, flexibility
is the key here. My daughter still eats with us at dinner
time, or at least sits with us while we are eating. At
this young age, it's more a matter of her watching how
we eat and learning the routine that is important. The
following are easy suggestions for toddler
food that I have found works well:
Baby Carrots: Place 5 or 6 in a microwave proof bowl
with a 1/2 cup or so of water. Microwave for about
2-3 minutes. I like to cook them until they are just
tender but not mushy. You can slice larger carrots
too, but I find the baby carrots are sweet and tender.
Peas: We use frozen or fresh peas. Cook the same
way as the carrots, drain and serve to your child. I
also mix both carrots and peas together. I buy large
bags of frozen peas and store them in plastic freezer
containers. I simply grab what I need and put the
container back!
Bananas: What would we do without these? I
slice thin and give one or two to my daughter
at a time. She is learning to use a fork with
bananas too. They are easy to "stab" with a
plastic baby fork.
Potatoes: I microwave a potato until tender.
Cool slightly and peel off the skin. I cut it
into bite size pieces and store in a plastic
container for 2 days, sometimes 3, but no
longer. I serve the same way as the bananas.
Obviously there are many, many more finger foods
appropriate for small children such as halved grapes,
graham crackers, animal crackers (be careful of the
brands that are "hard" and may be a choking hazard),
dry cereal and small pieces of bread or bagel with
peanut butter.
While my daughter is munching away on her nutritious
snacks, I am able to fix dinner and spend time singing,
talking, and occasionally dancing with her. (She loves
to listen to music while we cook.) When dinner is ready,
she sits at the table with us and usually eats her meat
or other food that she needs help with, and we are all able
to catch up on how our day has went.
Flexibility is a good thing!
About the Author
Brenda Hyde is a Mom of three, a freelance writer and
editor of the six newsletters here at Seeds of Knowledge.
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