Play in the Kitchen: 6-12 Months

by Dr. Amanda Gummer View Bio

Dr. Amanda’s Fun Food Tips
- Don’t be afraid to get messy! Let your baby play with their food to learn about textures and increase creativity!
- Make some music! Pots and pans will help your child express their emotions through the power of music.
- Use everyday kitchen utensils to help your child learn hand-eye coordination by playing with the different size bowls and cups.

As early as six months, your baby’s diet will change, allowing you to introduce finger foods into their diet. One of the best ways to make the switch over to more solid food is by slowly weaning the baby off milk or formula. A great way to do this is by incorporating play into mealtimes!

Mealtime is not just about nutrition, but also can also serve as a great learning experience for your baby. There are many textures, smells, colors, and noises associated with food that can be absorbed by your child through sight, touch, smell, and sound. Be careful though, fun with food can be messy so it’s best not to encourage it with every meal.

“Mealtime is not just about nutrition, but can also serve as a great learning experience for your baby.”

Mealtime play can provide many benefits to a child’s physical, communicative, creative, social, and emotional development. Incorporate some of these “fun with food” activities below during your next mealtime!

Food art is a great way to stimulate your baby’s creativity. Cucumbers, raw peppers, raisins, grapes, and tomatoes are great examples of foods your baby can use to create and design shapes. An added bonus: they are healthy to eat too!
Mealtime is not just about eating: have fun while preparing the meal too! Let your baby create their own kitchen orchestra with utensils in the kitchen. A spoon and plastic tub will make the perfect drum, and will allow your child to better differentiate sounds.
Babies can practice hand-eye coordination with a tumble tower. Stack plastic cups on top of each other to build a tall tower and let the giggles pour out of your little one as they watch their tower tumble down.
Physical and sensory developments are at a peak at this age. A simple activity like crawling around on the kitchen floor with your baby will help strengthen their muscles. Help them learn communication by naming all the objects you see while they crawl around.

Having fun with food will not just help your child develop an interest in eating, but will also allow them to practice using each of their senses. Let your baby have fun and enjoy mealtime – manners will come later!

Dr. Amanda’s Fun Food Tips
- Don’t be afraid to get messy! Let your baby play with their food to learn about textures and increase creativity!
- Make some music! Pots and pans will help your child express their emotions through the power of music.
- Use everyday kitchen utensils to help your child learn hand-eye coordination by playing with the different size bowls and cups.

Play in the Kitchen: 6-12 Months

More Expert Advice

Now That's Genius!