6 Ways to Help a Distracted Toddler Focus Better at Meals
September 2022
Last reviewed: September 2022
Author:
Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN
About Kids Eat in Color
Created by experts, Kids Eat in Color is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.
As an Amazon Associate, Kids Eat in Color® earns from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links.
Author:
Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN
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Inside: Is your toddler distracted at mealtimes? Learn 6 ways to get a toddler to focus on their food during meals. Some of these ideas are easier than you think!
Some toddlers struggle focusing or staying seated during meals. They can get distracted very easily and lose interest in their food or in eating.
Need help with a toddler too distracted to eat? Here are tips to help keep your toddler focused during meals, reduce mealtime distractions, and make eating fun!
Toddlers, especially if they are picky eaters, can struggle staying focused on their food during meals. Here are some common distractions at mealtimes that may prevent your toddler from wanting to eat.
Removing the distractions from the table or eating environment is one solution. But, that isn’t always possible.
If your child is a picky eater, download our free picky eater guide for strategies to minimize stress during meals.
Tips to get distracted toddlers interested in food at mealtimes
Here are tips for helping to engage your toddler who’s often distracted at mealtimes.
1. Include a favorite food when making your toddler’s lunch or dinner
Always include one item that you can reasonably assume your child will eat.
Whether it’s your child’s favorite vegetable or fruit, a main course they like, or their favorite dipping sauce, you should offer your toddler one food they will eat during meals.
2. Add some color to your child’s meal
Kids eat with their eyes first (don’t we all?), so you should try to make their food fun to look at!
Colorful silicone muffin cups make that fast and easy, whether you’re eating at home or packing a lunch for school or daycare.
Use a muffin cup that’s a complementary color to the food it’s holding to make eating really fun for toddlers. Complementary colors are red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and purple.
Use food picks that your child doesn’t see very often. Switch out the ones you use so your child doesn’t get bored by the repetition.
Try to only use food picks now and then so your child continues to think of them as novel and fun. As with anything, if you use them too often, your toddler can come to see food picks as commonplace.
5. Cut out a few shapes for your toddler’s meal
Cut out shapes of fruit, vegetables and bread with food cutters to make them more fun and appealing to your child.
Have you ever eaten a carrot in the shape of a star? Take our word for it, it definitely has an out-of-this-world, kid-approved taste.
What about food scraps?
You don’t have to only serve shapes. Serve everything, even the food scraps.
In lunchboxes, scraps go under shapes so there’s no food waste.
When eating at home, you can choose to serve the scraps along with the fun shapes. Or, you can make yourself a snack with the leftover scraps and eat with your child. (When you eat with your child, it counts as a family meal, and we love making family meals happen!)
6. Just choose one thing!
Don’t overdo it. Choose just one fun thing to add to your child’s meal to catch their interest.
Also, be sure to space out the novelty. Don’t just pack fun things into your toddler’s lunch for a few days or a week. Keep at it and rotate between these ideas to help prevent your toddler from getting distracted at mealtimes.
Feeding toddlers is no picnic, especially if your child is a picky eater. See our ultimate guide to healthy lunches for kids and toddlers. You’ll find fast meal ideas and 15+ kid-friendly lunch recipes.
Our ebook Lunchboxes has even more ideas for daycare or school meals. Shop today!
About Kids Eat in Color
Created by experts, Kids Eat in Color is the leading resource for families seeking evidence-based information and strategies on child nutrition and feeding.
Jennifer Anderson is a registered dietitian and has a masters of science in public health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. In 2019, she founded Kids Eat in Color®, a public health resource that improves child and family nutrition and mental health. Prior to starting Kids Eat in Color® she coordinated youth nutrition programs at a food bank, performed research in inner-city food deserts, and consulted for the USDA national office SNAP-Ed program. Her academic background is in public health nutrition, cultural anthropology, and economics.
Inside: Is your toddler distracted at mealtimes? Learn 6 ways to get a toddler to focus on their food during meals. Some of these ideas are easier than you think!
Some toddlers struggle focusing or staying seated during meals. They can get distracted very easily and lose interest in their food or in eating.
Need help with a toddler too distracted to eat? Here are tips to help keep your toddler focused during meals, reduce mealtime distractions, and make eating fun!
Article contents:
Common mealtime distractions
6 tips for distracted eaters
What to serve toddlers for lunch
Common mealtime distractions for toddlers
Toddlers, especially if they are picky eaters, can struggle staying focused on their food during meals. Here are some common distractions at mealtimes that may prevent your toddler from wanting to eat.
Related: Struggling with screens at meals? Learn 10 steps to reduce screen time at meals.
Removing the distractions from the table or eating environment is one solution. But, that isn’t always possible.
If your child is a picky eater, download our free picky eater guide for strategies to minimize stress during meals.
Tips to get distracted toddlers interested in food at mealtimes
Here are tips for helping to engage your toddler who’s often distracted at mealtimes.
1. Include a favorite food when making your toddler’s lunch or dinner
Always include one item that you can reasonably assume your child will eat.
Whether it’s your child’s favorite vegetable or fruit, a main course they like, or their favorite dipping sauce, you should offer your toddler one food they will eat during meals.
2. Add some color to your child’s meal
Kids eat with their eyes first (don’t we all?), so you should try to make their food fun to look at!
Colorful silicone muffin cups make that fast and easy, whether you’re eating at home or packing a lunch for school or daycare.
Use a muffin cup that’s a complementary color to the food it’s holding to make eating really fun for toddlers. Complementary colors are red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and purple.
3. Try a new lunchbox, plate or utensil
A new lunchbox for school or daycare, a fun, interactive plate, or a new set of colorful or interesting silverware can go a long way in getting distracted kids interested in their food.
See our blogs for our top product recommendations.
Read our honest review of popular lunchboxes, our guide to the best plates for kids, and our list of the top 10+ kid utensils.
4. Add novelty to mealtime with some food picks
Add food picks to foods to help get your toddler more interested in their meal.
From adorable animals to cars with faces to colorful musical notes, there are so many kinds of food picks out there, you’re sure to find some to keep your distracted child focused on their meal.
Tips for using food picks during meals
5. Cut out a few shapes for your toddler’s meal
Cut out shapes of fruit, vegetables and bread with food cutters to make them more fun and appealing to your child.
Have you ever eaten a carrot in the shape of a star? Take our word for it, it definitely has an out-of-this-world, kid-approved taste.
What about food scraps?
You don’t have to only serve shapes. Serve everything, even the food scraps.
In lunchboxes, scraps go under shapes so there’s no food waste.
When eating at home, you can choose to serve the scraps along with the fun shapes. Or, you can make yourself a snack with the leftover scraps and eat with your child. (When you eat with your child, it counts as a family meal, and we love making family meals happen!)
6. Just choose one thing!
Don’t overdo it. Choose just one fun thing to add to your child’s meal to catch their interest.
Also, be sure to space out the novelty. Don’t just pack fun things into your toddler’s lunch for a few days or a week. Keep at it and rotate between these ideas to help prevent your toddler from getting distracted at mealtimes.
Related: Feeling overwhelmed? Get my tips for cooking and surviving when overwhelmed.
What to serve toddlers for lunch
Feeding toddlers is no picnic, especially if your child is a picky eater. See our ultimate guide to healthy lunches for kids and toddlers. You’ll find fast meal ideas and 15+ kid-friendly lunch recipes.
Our ebook Lunchboxes has even more ideas for daycare or school meals. Shop today!