Note: This will also help the fussy eaters try a variety of foods.
Get ready to have massive amounts of fun and a fair bit of cleaning up afterwards but messy food play is well worth it.
Take a tray and fill it up with food. You can use things like milk, juice, tomato sauce, mashed-up banana, mousse, yoghurt, you name it. If you want to keep it less messy, try dry foods like cereals, flour, sugar, cold cooked pasta or rice. Hide small toys (no choking hazards) in the food and take turns to find the toys.
If you are using liquids, you can then use the liquid in the tray to make handprint pictures. You can use some of the dried food with PVC glue to make pictures and the cooked pasta shapes can be threaded onto string.
What matters is that you are dedicating time to spend with your child to have fun and play. They don’t need expensive toys because the toys aren’t the role model, you are! Taking time to play with your child every day is fundamental for their learning and their confidence.