Parenting at mealtime & playtime

Parenting at Mealtime & Playtime
Parent Handout – 3 Years

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Fast Facts:

  • Meals include all 5 food groups, have regular meal times
  • Offer a variety of textures, flavors, and colors
  • Serve vegetables first when your child is most hungry
  • Avoid drinks with added sugar
  • Offer milk at mealtime
  • Water first for thirst between meals
  • Remember to offer your child healthy choices but allow them to choose what and how much they eat
  • Trust your child’s appetite – limit snacking between meals
  • Comfort and reward your child with hugs and words – do not use food as a comfort, reward or bribe
  • Pack healthy snacks when on the go, like cut up vegetables and fruit

Videos:

How to Handle an Already Established Picky Eater – Dina Rose, PhD
Ways to Positively Impact a Child’s Diet – Dina Rose, PhD

Resources:

Trust Your Child’s Appetite – They Know How Much To Eat

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Fast Facts:

  • At least one hour of active play per day
  • Free play is important – play outside whenever possible
  • Limit screen time – no screens in child’s room
  • May be ready to try a tricycle or balance bike
  • Children at this age can engage in cooperative play – allow your child to play in small groups with children his/her age
  • Stimulate your child’s imagination – let them be creative during playtime
  • Help your child explore their environment – 3 year olds are curious, so turn learning into a game

Resources:

Playing Inside During the Winter

Active Play Everyday – Tips for Parents and Caregivers – A Handout

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Fast Facts:

  • Enjoy conversations with your child as they learn new words and sentences
  • Enjoy helping with meals and household chores
  • Watch your child’s strength and balance improve
  • Watch as they learn to print, draw, color and paint
  • Allow child to help make meals
  • Eat family meals at the table, share what you are eating
  • Focus on conversation at mealtime
  • Make mealtime fun – a messy mealtime is to be expected
  • Comfort and reward your child with hugs and words
  • Do not use food as a comfort, reward or bribe
  • Read to your child daily
  • Sleeps 11-13 hours daily

Videos:

How to Handle an Already Established Picky Eater – Dina Rose, PhD
Ways to Positively Impact a Child’s Diet – Dina Rose, PhD
Common Myths Among Parents – Dina Rose, PhD

Family Meal Time
Family Play Time
Healthy Sleep Habits: Getting Ready for Nap

Little Helpers
Child-Friendly Activities
Reading to Your Child

Resources:

Your Child at 3 Years – See What Most Children Do at this Age – A Handout from the CDC

Tips for Making and Eating More Meals Together

  • American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Ohio Department of Health
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Disclosure2: This mobile application was supported by the Grant or Cooperative Agreement Number, 2 B01 OT 009042, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.

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