mummiez & daddiez magazine

daughter eats a banana then you should give them a
cookie. It is better for the child‘s health and
wellbeing for the reward to be something that is not
material, for example if the child eats all their
vegetables at dinner, or fruit from their lunch box
then the reward will be a trip to the park or
swimming pool. Exercise is always good, and
children just see it as fun! So what better way to
reward them, then with something that keeps them
fit?
TIP FIVE- Less is more. Giving your child a plate
piled to the high hills with carrots is extremely
daunting for a child. One tablespoon of vegetables is
fine at first while you ease the child into the food
that they are refusing to eat. After a while you can
slowly increase the quantity until it is a reasonable
helping.
TIP SIX- Take the kids food shopping! Children
love trips out and what better way to introduce them
to food that‘s in a supermarket? A fun game you
could play is create a mini shopping list for the child
and allow them to partly do the shop for you. Once
they find each object they can tick it off of their list.
Children love games like this as it is like hide and
seek and they feel proud being able to say that they
have completed the challenge. Another reason that
children like to go on the food shop with parents is
because it makes them feel like they have slight
control over the situation. Even though in all
circumstances the parent(s) will be in control, the
child will feel differently. This will lead the child to
believe that the dinner they are eating has been
chosen by them, therefore they do not feel pressured
(this relates to tip one).
TIP SEVEN- Make the food look fun! There are lots
of ways to make food look fun. I‘ll give you a few
examples. How about making a plate of carrot sticks
and celery sticks that look like the sun with a nice
dip in the middle? When giving them food try to
assemble it to look like a face, this way it is more
appealing to the child. Children love to get messy
fingers, so give them meat on the bone and big
chunky carrots to munch on! Just make sure you are
prepared for the mess! Finally, add a bit of colour to
the dish. Make sure it has different colours or it will
look bland to the child and this will not encourage
them to eat it!
TIP EIGHT- Last but definitely not least, get the
children involved with the creation of meals!
Whether it‘s sprinkling the cheese, pouring the flour
or mixing the sauce, children love getting stuck in
and getting their hands messy! Letting the child
make their own food gives them a sense of control
over what they‘re eating whilst also educating them
on how to cook.
Here are a couple of recipes that are fun to
make with the children.
MINI MUFFIN PIZZAS
You will need:
� One English muffin
� Tomato puree -2 tbsp
� Personal choice of meat
� Yellow and green peppers
� 1 Fresh tomato
� Sweet corn
� Red onion sliced
� ½ cup of Mozzarella grated
� Salt and Pepper to season
� Slice the muffin into two halves creating 2
bases for your mini-pizzas
� Toast the muffins until golden brown
� Cook the onions until softened
� Spread the tomato puree on the base
� Layer up with your toppings (can alter to
choice)
� Place under grill four approximately 4
minutes until the mozzarella has melted.
TUCK IN!
BANANA ICE LOLLIES
This one is a perfect summer snack.
You will need:
1/2 banana per person
20g melted milk or dark chocolate
Lolly sticks
� Push the stick inside the halved
banana.
� Roll the banana in the chocolate until
evenly covered.
� Place in freezer until the child is
peckish
ENJOY! Hannah Aldwinkle