With the kids at the table: 5 ways to make it more fun and easier
In the pre-kids era, it was the highlight of the day (who still remembers...?), dinner, and nine times out of ten it is a fight with kids. But why, minis? Why? First you can't get them to the table (tired from the day, not wanting to listen, not wanting to sit - whatever), then you get nothing in it (lusikknee), everything goes over the floor (why?!) and they are gone again before you have eaten (and you can then go back to the evening program).
We spoke to bright Norwegian minds behind the Stokke brand (you know, from Tripp Trapp) and have some very simple, but very effective tips to get (and keep) those kids at the table. This is how we recommend the iconic ones here Tripp Trapp high chair (this year Tripp Trapp celebrates his 50th birthday, hurray!), cutlery for the small stuff and other parenting hacks to get everyone to the table.
Just useful tips, a few tricks, some things that might help. For the children, but also to make it more fun and easier for yourself.
Sitting still is not necessarily a children's hobby. And you know, that's not necessary at all. Sitting upright is just not that comfortable (you're also changing positions all the time, just pay attention). Getting into the chair and getting out again, kneeling for a while, maybe standing for a while and then sitting down again: all small things that ensure that they have room to move, but are still comfortable at the table with you. Best chair for this? The Tripp Trapp from Stokke. Who hasn't grown up with it? The Tripp Trapp can be adjusted in many ways so that you can use it from birth: the baby can be in a lounger from 6 months (when the child can sit), a brace keeps your baby until he or she is a toddler. is, in place. And you can also use the Tripp Trapp as an adult – what are we saying? We sit on it just as often (since the bracket has been removed and the footboard has been lowered). Just always or when there are extra visitors. Looks beautiful too, in any home.
Well, quite a statement from Tripp Trapp, but no word of a lie. Fifty years ago, in 1972, it was not yet normal for children to participate in household fun. So letting the kids take a seat at the table was nothing less than a revolutionary idea at the time. They were no longer sitting in a corner somewhere messing with their food, but at the table with everyone else. To learn, to chat and just to be there. Children and adults, having fun together. Discover together what is possible and what is not, which traditions are born and which traditions can be thrown off the table (literally).
This is precisely the core of the Tripp Trapp's 50th anniversary: giving children a place at the table. This way parents and children can figure it out. Together. So hey: we celebrate that. The beautiful and handy chair, but also the ideas behind it: a symbol of connection.
O! And did you know that they come in beautiful colors and that you can easily give them a second life? Best home investment ever. Because hey: 50 years after the launch of the iconic chair, hardly anything has changed in the design, it is so timeless and sustainable. Says enough, we think. The people there have a crazy business model, because you can use it from baby to adult and it doesn't break. Buying it once is enough for the rest of your life and then of course you pass it on. There are some useful things that you need to buy if you want to let your baby sit in the seat, but you can also take them off just as easily if it no longer fits.
Children learn to imitate at the table. They see that questions are asked, that people are listened to, but also that everyone eats with a knife and fork. Unconsciously, everything is imitated and the little ones are busy mimicking all kinds of things. Coming back to eating with cutlery: you can give them one of those ugly neon yellow spoons (no judgment here, everyone has them), but it becomes even more fun and real if they also have nice cutlery, just like the rest at the table. Think of soft colors, a nice twisted handle (so easier to hold), silicone cutlery so that the teeth are not damaged. Everything immediately looks a lot nicer on the table.
While one person actually likes everything right away and the other throws more food on the wall than swallows, it can still be a thing, that food at the table. Being able to reach the table easily is a must (that adjustable Tripp Trapp comes into play again. The footrest is also adjustable, so even more grip and movement options) and you can let the kids help with cooking. Cooking is cool! Most kids think so, but they are rarely allowed to help. Hassle, complicated, dangerous... It's a shame, what it can do! Hence four tasty (tried and tested!), simple and fun recipes to make with your kids. Even little ones from the age of two can help! And we secretly put some extra vegetables in there, but they don't notice.
You know how it is... Those cozy houses with a cool rug under the table. Looks so cozy and is nice and warm on your feet. But 'ours' always throws all his food on the floor! Say goodbye to your beautiful rug. Wrong! A mess mat is really your lifesaver those first years when they sit at the table. Sounds awful, doesn't it. There are high-quality transparent mats that you can easily wipe off the root scum and there are simply complete mats on its own. In very beautiful natural tones that you will definitely want in your home. Or with a marble pattern or transparent.
If your kids have a love/hate relationship with sitting at the table, try doing something other than just eating. Let them do everything at the table instead of in their own play corner. This way the table also becomes their place and not just that of the adults. Do crafts, make a race course, play a game, put together a life-size puzzle (which can also be left lying around for a while) or build a fort out of blankets.
The chair among children's chairs is surely the Tripp Trapp. And extra fun: this year it celebrates its 50th anniversary! Virtually nothing has changed in the design, it looks great in any room and any interior and now with a special edition made of sustainable ash wood. Because the entire trunk of the ash tree is used, each chair has slightly different colors and wood grain: all unique. Just like your baby!
We didn't know it, but after the tip from the experts at Stokke, it makes sense: children stay at the table better and longer if they have exercised before. A marathon is a bit much, but running outside for an hour, playing tag or getting a breath of fresh air on the beach or in the woods is exhausting enough for those little monsters. They have used up their energy, they have to give a place to all the experiences they have acquired and voila: sitting at the table becomes a lot easier. Now you have probably come a long way or your child has favorite sports and games, but we wouldn't be Barts Boekje if we didn't have a few tips.
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