Back when my kids were slightly smaller, mealtimes were always a circus. Getting toddlers to pay attention, eat their food, or wait in a restaurant is often a challenge. Do you use products at mealtimes that will entertain your kids? Do you find them a help or a distraction from mealtime?
We found several products that are designed to make mealtimes more fun. The Track Table is actually a dining table whose tiles can be flipped over and turned into tracks for trains. The Constructive Eating set features utensils that are actually miniature constuction tools, including a bulldozer and a front loader. And the Drink Divers take that perpetual parent headache, blowing through your straw into a drink, and turn it into a game.
Are these entertainers worthwhile, though, or are they a recipe for disaster? At what point do kids just need to learn that mealtime is for eating? Would you use any of these products, or do you employ anything similar? Is it any different than getting a kids' menu with crayons?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
MORE MEALTIME POSTS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Mealtime Goods
• Make Mealtime Easier with Serving Trays
• High Chairs or Their Own Table : Where Do Your Kids Eat?
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We always have an adult sit at the table with the kids, even if we aren't eating. So, yes, we discuss various things and or sometimes read picture books. Actual toys are not allowed. And the kids are tv-free so we don't use that crutch.
I'm very anti toys at the dinner table, especially at restaurants—where there is so much to see and take in: new smells, tastes, people to watch, menus to look at… It always bothers me when we're eating out with another family and their kid has a bunch of toys because then our daughter wants the toys and doesn't want to eat. If she doesn't see any toys, she's quite content checking everything out. At home, she's constantly entertaining us with her silly faces and babbling baby talk - she seems to understand that meal times are about socializing and eating, not playing with toys.