5 Food Suggestions For Keeping Kids at the Table

I have a child who often likes to start dancing around the dinner table about five minutes into the meal. Or she gets up time and again during dinner to get or do something unnecessary, which is really just an excuse to get up from the table. Sometimes we ignore the behaviour as the dancing and singing is generally interspersed with regular visits to her seat to tell us things of utmost importance and to eat more dinner. Sometimes, especially when we are tired, it gets really frustrating as we would just like to sit quietly at the table as a family and talk about our day. It is not every night and, in our case, I know it is not about not wanting to eat. We have tried distraction, natural consequences, removal of privileges, all sorts of strategies to try and encourage her to stay sitting at the table while we eat together and each of these work…to an extent…some of the time…but by no means every time.

One thing that I have observed when it comes to keeping our preschooler sitting at the table is that serving food that involves putting parts of the meal together at the table can make all the difference. I imagine it is a combination of;

  • Being active (having something to keep little hands busy)
  • The element of choice (what will I eat now)
  • And the sense of both control (how much will I have) and of independence (I can do it myself)

that makes it work so well.

Here are my 5 meal suggestions for keeping busy kids at the table;

1. Nachos, Tacos or Burritos: serve with a selection of ingredients that children can choose to add to their plate. As well as the meat mix we often include;

  • Fresh tomato, finely chopped
  • Fresh mushroom, sliced*
  • Tinned corn
  • Avocado, mashed*
  • Grated cheese
  • Sour cream

* Slicing mushrooms and mashing avocado are two jobs that a preschooler can easily help with.

2. Savoury crepes: similar to burritos, serve with your choice of prepared fillings and then roll them up.

3. Sang Choy Bow: offer fresh bean sprouts and chopped water chestnuts alongside the meat mixture and allow your child to fill their lettuce leaf cup themselves. You can find a recipe for Sang Choy Bow here at Planning With Kids.

4. Cheese fondue: head back to the 60s with a fondue set, cheese fondue (recipe suggestion here at Simple Bites) and your choice of meat, seafood, vegetables and bread for dunking.

5. Bee-Bim Bop: a Korean dish that the children enjoyed at the child care centre that I used to oversee. To make;

You will need:

Marinade

  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 5 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Other ingredients

  • 1.5 kg lean beef
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 packets frozen spinach, defrosted
  • 1/2 kg mung bean sprouts
  • 4 eggs
  • Salt and pepper
  • Vegetable oil for frying
  • 2 cups of rice

To make:

  1. Cook rice according to packet instructions.
  2. Prepare the marinade by combining all ingredients listed.
  3. Slice beef across the grain into very thin slices. Add to marinade and leave for a few minutes.
  4. Break eggs into a large measuring cup and beat well until mixed.
  5. Place 1 teaspoon vegetable oil into a non-stick pan. Pour 1/4 of the egg into the pan, rotating the pan quickly so that the egg spreads out into a thin layer. Cook for 1 minute. Flip with a spatula and cook the second side for 1 minute. Remove egg pancake onto a chopping board and leave to cool. Repeat with remaining mixture to make 4 egg pancakes. Slice the pancakes into thin slices and set aside in a bowl.
  6. Cut carrots into julienne strips and stir fry in a little oil over a high heat, remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.
  7. Squeeze excess water from spinach and stir fry in a little oil for 2-3 minutes until tender, season and set aside in a bowl.
  8. Cook the thin strips of beef on a high hear for 2-3 minutes until brown, remove from heat and place in a bowl, pouring over meat juices.
  9. Place mung beans into a bowl.
  10. To serve, place rice onto plates and then (allow your child to) add egg, meat and vegetables as preferred.
  11. Optional – serve with ko-chee-chang (Korean hot pepper paste) and kimchee (Korean pickled cabbage).

Do you have a toddler or preschooler who likes to dance through dinner? Do you have any meal suggestions to add to this list?

10 Comments

  1. Lynne @ Mumma Funk says:

    I have a toddler that likes to do similar things. He likes to chair hop and does it everytime we are at the table. I quite often feed him at the kitchen bench and sit next to him. When his Dad is away (which is often this year) he continues to chair hop between his own chair and the chair that his dad would normally sit. I’ve tried taking the chair away. He doesnt’ stop until he’s hunted it down and put it back in its place. It’s pretty fascinating watching some of the things toddlers do! I can see your suggestion being a hit around our dinner table and maybe at the kitchen bench. Will definitely give it a go 🙂

  2. My 2.5yo thinks she is too busy to eat – I don’t know why I’ve never thought of giving her food that she can get involved with! Its a brilliant idea.
    Looking forward to hearing what you have to say at Blogopolis tomorrow! x

  3. Great suggestions, like that you have added in some international recipes that are tasty and exciting for little people

  4. The Munchkin has always been difficult to keep at the table, although he’s a big school boy now (Prep), so not sure if he qualifies! We have tried a seat wedge suggested by the OT, but that has mixed results… as do burritos! I’ve found that there is a magic window, much as there is for bedtime, in which he will happily eat. Too early or too late, and you miss it completely. I love the idea of the “putting together” meals, but in fact we have most success with either soup or the typical meat and 3 veg meals – not our standard fare unfortunately! One things is for certain, if food is not a motivator, no end of cajoling or reward/punishment will do the trick. At the end of the day, if they want to eat, they will eat!

  5. Thanks for linking to my recipe! Lots of great tips in this post Christie.

  6. I have a chair hopper too. In fact a very similiar situation to Cath (comment above). Timing is a major factor for us. Not much after 5pm and I’ve missed the dinner window. Because it is complete mayhem in our household at dinner time I haven’t tried your suggestion but I do use a help-yourself system for morning tea through to afternoon tea. It really does work!

  7. Great idea! We also have a table escapee, some of it dancing and wandering, chatting and returning… but some of it just “I’m finished” and hopping down to go and play. I’m not sure at what age to start enforcing the “you have to ask to leave the table” rule that I grew up with (if we do at all? I think yes…) and to start getting more serious with dinner time routine. Right now, at 2.5 years old, I know that it would be a battle that I’m not going to win. But when do I start? Will it be easy for her to understand at 4 or 5 that NOW she has to start sitting at the table until she has permission to leave? Hmm.
    Thanks for the dinner time tips.

  8. We have a 3.5 year old and a 5 year old. They have always sat at the table with us and have had periods of attempting to get up during the meal. We always give a toilet warning before tea, so if you need to go, go now. Then if you get off your chair during the meal, your meal is over. No more to eat, no dessert, no snacks later, that’s it. This is very effective for our children, as are the suggestions of build your own tea and tea you can eat with your hands! If you try all your tea you can have dessert – a choice of fruit or yoghurt. If on the odd occasion we have a special dessert such as ice cream, all tea must be eaten!

  9. My girls are 7 and 9 and I still serve most of our meals in bits to be assembled at the table. All your suggestions for preschoolers work really well too with autistic kids who have food issues, that elements of control over what they are eating is so very important.

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