Comments on: Panel Post: Cooking Healthy Food With Young Children

By: Samara

Samara — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:20:28 +0000

Thanks for the great post and comments! I’m always needing ideas . My 6 mo girl has been trained to enjoy time in her playpen which I keep near me while I’m working in the kitchen (so she’s not “alone”), and that has worked so far but she is now more mobile and wants her world to expand! I appreciate the suggestions.

By: Sustainable Eats

Sustainable Eats — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:44:07 +0000

This is such a great topic – I have two insanely busy little guys. I did as much as I could with one in an Asian wrap, when they were smaller it was a moby front wrap. When they got old enough to sit up I would put yogurt or applesauce on the high chair tray and let them finger paint. I would also put a small amount of water on a jelly roll pan on the floor and let the baby splash in it. Another fun thing was putting photos of things in a small zip lock and then putting ketsup, mustard or colored water in a larger zip lock. Then I put the small one in the large one and let them squish it around until they could see the pictures. I’ve even been desperate enough to bring the larger blow up swimming pool in and then put the baby blow up swimming pool inside that with a small amount of water for them to play in. That would sit just outside the kitchen door so I could keep a constant eye on them but it sure kept them busy! When the toddler was past the age of putting small things in his nose & mouth I would fill the pool with beans and scoopers instead of water. I’ve found sensory play is by far the thing that occupies most fussy babies.

Thanks for another great post Kimi!

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:33:52 +0000

I find planning ahead and the crockpot are life savers!
I have an almost 4 yr old & 2 yr old boys and a 4 mo old girl, I usually decide by morning if not the night before what is for dinner. The kids are much easier to entertain and play on their own in the morning hours then late afternoon, so if I can get the hard stuff out of the way earlier, dinner is much easier.

By: Misty

Misty — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:46:21 +0000

Great tips! Thanks. When I had a larger house, I used a learning tower, and loved it. I’m in such a small space now that even our round table for 4 get’s one leaf dropped when not being used for meals.
I have another question regarding little ones – any good ideas for finger foods that don’t include dairy, soy or gluten (wheat). My almost 1 yr old loves to feed himself. I’ve made GF Bread sticks & crackers for him. And occasionally he’ll eat broccoli, green beans, pinto beans, sweet potatoes, frozen blueberries and rasberries. But he really is being quite picky. Maybe you’ve covered this elsewhere??

By: Karen T.

Karen T. — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:57:22 +0000

Thanks for the simple recipe Kimi! My husband travels a lot, so I would love to have a carnival of quick and easy recipes sometime!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:42:16 +0000

What I gleaned the most from this post was comfort to know that all of you talented ladies who post these wonderful food-blogs deal with the same issues, and manage to continue to feed your families nourishing food We’ve tried most of the ideas that you all mentioned (I have a 2yr old and a 5mo old) and sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.

Planning ahead is definitely the most important step in getting dinner on the table, isn’t it? Easier said then done some days, though.

I think I will incorporate more of Stephanie’s suggestion to get a lot done in the morning, as both of my children are quite content for a good hour in the morning.

By: Jasmin

Jasmin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:32:56 +0000

I have a 16-months old boy and he is a pretty avarage kid.
With my in-laws he is terrible. He acts fussy, needy and wants them to do all the time things he wants them to do, whereas I can do all my cooking and online-surfing while he is entertaining himself.
I thing the reason for that is that my in-laws spoiled him to much and listened to everything he wanted them to do. That is the result. He is never peaceful with them but when he is with me he can play very cheerfully even alone by himself which gives me a hell lot of time.

By: Vehement Flame

Vehement Flame — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 16:34:17 +0000

I giggled as I read this. With a 6 mo old, a two yr old and an older child cooking is quite the circus! I remember a friend telling me how his grandmother would take her two little babies, put them on the floor in front of the bed, and then lift the bed posts and stick their old fashioned long white nightgowns underneath to “keep them put” while she got all her morning chores done. Way back then this was necessary so she could milk the cows, gather, the eggs, etc… without worring about them getting in the fireplace while she was busy!! I usualy just keep them in the kitchen with me and on fussy days wait for my husband to help.

By: Diamondiva

Diamondiva — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:29:19 +0000

I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your blog – especially the pictures.

By: Kaylin

Kaylin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:53:43 +0000

Great suggestions. I’ve done a lot of those things too. It gets easier as you have more children and there are older ones to entertain the younger ones. Mine are 7 1/2, 4, and 14 months and my 14 month-old daughter usually wants to play with her brothers. Of course she also has her fussy/clingy times too. My mom (who had 8 children) used to say, If you give them 5 minutes, they’ll give you an hour. Usually if I sit down with my toddler and give her my undivided attention, after about 5 minutes she’ll climb off my lap and go play. Sometimes they just need a Mommy Fix. Also, if she gets very irrational I give her a few bites of good fat like coconut oil and that helps to stabilize her mood.