Remember when people used to say, “Don’t play with your food?”

Food exploration is important because this is simply how toddlers and preschoolers learn best – by engaging in play based learning.  Toddler’s typically explore new things by determining…”What is it?” “What is it for?” “What does it smell like?” “How does it feel?” This is how they gather information, and learning to like new foods and how to eat them is no exception.

Here are some fun ways to do food exploration with your toddlers

“Does this food make a crunch sound when you break it?”

“Can you squish it between your fingers?”

“What color is this food?”

“Can you make a smiley face out of these peas?”

“I bet I can make a taller tower out of these carrots than you can!”

“Let’s use the broccoli to make a forest on the table!”

See it, smell it, touch it, taste it is a great way to explore with no pressure.

www.Mylittleeater.com for more ideas