Put Vegetables on This Kids Maze Tray First
With a finicky child, eating times are difficult. Pleading, negotiation, and flickering visions pass as he chews on dinosaur nuggets and applesauce at his upcoming wedding because you failed to persuade him to try a new meal. Here’s a tool that can end the struggle: the food maze tray.
How it works: Parents place different food items in compartments of a superhero , dinosaur, or pirate- themed maze, and then let little diners eat their way from start to finish. The healthiest and greenest foods can be helpful first – if your kids claim they’re half full , well, at least they’ve got some of the nutrients. But they won’t stop! Why? Because there is a top secret hidden prize at the end of the maze. And they can’t lift the lid until they finish it all. So disturbing! What could it be? Chocolate dessert? Five raisins? Mom’s kiss coupon? Children love a good quest and a great ending. Aren’t we all?
Mother named Jen Anderson of Kirkland, Washington, told The Kitchn, that the tray has changed the rules for her 5-year-old son Levi, who is autistic. It was almost impossible to get him to eat as he could not sit and concentrate for more than 10 seconds at a time. But then, she said, the treat became a “motivator.” Now she makes Levy eat “things like broccoli, cheese, fruit, sandwich slices and a lot of other things that she didn’t even think was possible.”
I can see that my 4-year-old daughter really liked the tray, who eats ridiculously slow and doesn’t like her foods touching each other. It may also remind my husband and me to diversify her diet.
The tray is called the Dinner Winner and is available at the Fred & Friends store .