Fun Feeding Therapy Ideas 4 Bigger Kiddos

[Anonymous]

Here are some ideas Emma’s ST team have given us. The key to most of these activities is that food is fun. We are seeing slow progress with Emma, it’s been an up & down ride. She had a big set-back after rotavirus in January. Most of these activities are for toddlers & older. But, you can modify some to fit the under 2 kiddos.

Another thing I do for Emma is make a ‘snack mix’ for her. I put puffs, veggie crackers, mini marshmallows, fruit chewies, dried fruit, various cereal, etc. in a bag or bowl. I let her walk around or watch TV while she has her snack. She tends to eat more, I think because she can pick & choose what she is consuming.

Kool-Aid Painting

Sprinkle unsweetened Kool-Aid on a piece of paper. Let the children move a piece of ice over the Kool-Aid. Watch as the Kool-Aid turns to liquid & makes a yummy smelling picture.

Critter Crunch

Grate tasting, fun to eat Critter Crunch is easy enough for kids to make.

1 cup animal crackers

1 cup teddy bear shaped chocolate or honey flavored graham cracker

1 cup small pretzel twists

1 cup candy-coated chocolate candies (or fruit puffs, etc.)

10 colorful ice-cream cones, if desired

Mix all ingredients except ice cream cones. Serve snack in cones.

Popsicle Painting

Buy a package of popsicles. Freeze them until ready to sue. Give each child one with a big piece of paper & let them paint.

Treasure Hunt

Hide candies or food items (teddy grahams, fruit puffs, etc. in cups or baggies) in a specific area of the house i.e. your child’s room. Have your child find all items & bring them to you. Try to get a variety of textures. Possible items include: wrapped lollipops, fruit roll-ups, apples, tortillas, etc.

Dump & Fill

Toddlers like to dump & fill just about anything. Coffee cans & boxes make great items to fill. Possible items to use: dry beans, dry rice, macaroni

Fingerprint Fun

Have your child press one finger onto a smooth colored texture such as pudding or icing then press onto piece of paper. Repeat.

Apple Pizza

You need pizza dough, canned apple pie filling, vanilla icing, & brown sugar. Knead out the dough & spread about a ½ inch layer of the pie filling on the dough & sprinkle brown sugar on top. Warm the vanilla icing & place it in a clean squeeze bottle. Apply the icing to the top of the apple pizza in lines across the pizza. Follow directions for baking that are on the dough container.

Cotton Candy Snowman

Let your child use cotton candy & icing (as glue) on blue paper to create a snowman!

Icing Snowflakes

Help your child trace snowflakes with whip cream in a can or icing in a tube. Let them be messy & creative.

Whipped Cream Snowman

Finger paint a snowman with whip cream. You can substitute pudding or icing for whipped cream.

Coconut Snowman

Place icing on a piece of paper in the shape of a snowman. Have child add coconut to the paper. Then use raisins, etc. to decorate eyes, buttons.

Painting with Marshmallows

Have children use large & small marshmallows as brushes. Use icing or pudding as paint on paper. They can ‘stamp’ with the marshmallows.

**For any of the painting ideas, you can also add more fun by giving your child shakers with colored sprinkles. They can shake (& sample!) the colorful sprinkles. Also, for the more creative parents, they can create dogs, cats, etc. for their little ones to paint…instead of just snowmen!!

Yummy Fruit Dip

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp. orange juice

1 jar marshmallow crème

Soften cream cheese & cream ingredients together. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Great dip for fresh fruit, graham crackers, etc.

Peanut Butter Play Dough

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup corn syrup

1 ¼ cup nonfat dry milk

1 ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar

Mix then knead the ingredients. Let your child mold & play with the dough…and when they are done…they can eat it!

Dive under the Ocean

Put several plastic ocean creatures (for oral motor, substitute with fish fruit chewies, Spongebob cheez-its, Goldfish varieties, etc.) under a sheet. Call out a child’s name & say “(Child’s name) dive under the ocean!” Then have the child go under the sheet & retrieve an ‘ocean creature.” Then talk about what they found (& gobble them up if food!).

Five Little Cookies

Sing while eating cookies.

Five little cookies,

With frosting galore,

Mother ate the pink one,

Then there were four.

Four little cookies,

Two and two, you see,

Father ate the green one,

Then there were three.

Three little cookies,

But before I knew,

Sister ate the yellow one,

Then there were two.

Two little cookies,

Oh, what fun!

Brother at the brown one,

Then there was one.

One little cookie,

Watch me run!

I ate the red one,

Then there was none!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing these ideas!!

[Author]

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