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Once thought of as something you absolutely shouldn’t do, playing with food is now considered a very natural part of your child’s development.
“It is very natural for babies to investigate food,” says Little Bellies spokesperson and natural feeding advocate Simone Emery. “This can be by playing, squishing, seeing what happens when it falls and looking at what you do with food too. Eating isn’t a simple act of sitting down and eating.”
Still not convinced? Here are three reasons why babies and young kids should play with their food.
Babies learn through play, and food play is no exception.
Simone says, “Babies get lots of positive learning experiences through playing with food. They learn about texture, smells, sounds and see what changes.”
Playing with food is the beginning of your baby’s journey to eating independently. But before they can feed themselves, they need to develop their fine motor skills. This is going to involve lots of feeling, squeezing and mushing of their food.
Tell Me Baby parents say Baby Bellies Organic Banana Softcorn is the perfect beginner stage one snack. One mum wrote: “They have a great taste and are easy for her to hold and feed herself. They dissolve quickly in her mouth which reduces the risk of choking.” (Read more reviews of Little Bellies here.)
It’s thought that babies need to be exposed to foods eight to 10 times before they’ll eat it. Letting them play with food helps to build up familiarity and hopefully leads to eating.
Make it fun, let them play and try not to add any pressure about eating certain foods.
If you’re not sure how to go about encouraging your baby or toddler to play with food, Simone says to find a space in your home where it won’t matter if it gets too messy.
“It could be in the garden, on a picnic blanket with a water play station set-up nearby. It could be on the tiles in the middle of the kitchen floor,” suggests Simone. “Have a look at your usual eating area and troubleshoot ways to make it play friendly.”
Once you have your space sorted, parents can follow their baby’s lead or join in with some parallel play sitting next to them.
“Babies love to mimic their parents, and they will naturally be interested in what they are doing,” says Simone. “Parents can enjoy the moment, model enjoying eating their food at the same time and leave cleanup until later.”
As hard it might be, try not to interrupt the process as this can “inadvertently discourage their learning,” explains Simone.
When the time comes to clean up, Simone says to involve your child in the cleanup process.
“Something like dancing and singing to the bathroom at the end for cleanup can make a chore part of the rhythm of your meals.”
Bon appetit!
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