Is dinner time at your house often chaotic and busy? Is it difficult to get a healthy meal together fast and keep your kids entertained? I am a parent with 3 young children, a busy household, work and extracurricular activities, and I know it can be a challenge to get dinner on the table, make it healthy, keep my kids occupied and keep myself sane through dinner preparation, dinner-time and cleaning up. To help our family get through dinner time we use the strategies I will list below. They definitely help our family.
I have 10 dinner-time or meal time strategies that can help your family make it through mealtime with less tantrums, stress and a lot more fun.
The first 5 strategies can be used everyday to help get through dinner time. The last 5 may be ideas you can add once or twice a week to make mealtime more fun, get your kids excited about a special night or for a special evening. Some of the ideas may not be new to you or you may not be using them regularly, but I find having a routine, even at dinner time, does help keep my kids calm and engaged at dinner time.
1. Involve your kids in Dinner Preparation
2. Let your kids Help Plan the Meal or Pick a Side.
3. Give each child a Small Job to do Before and After Dinner
4. Play a Game during Dinner
5. Opposite Day or Reverse Day
6. Shapes and Colors Meal
7. Give them a New Printable Activity before Dinner
8. King or Queen for a Meal
9. Themed Meals
10. 1 Dish Wonders and No Utensils
Extras:
Dunk and Dip Fun
Let them Play with their Food
1. Involve your kids in Dinner Preparation-
