Do you ever wonder about your toddler’s ability to survive on what seems like nothing more than air and the occasional sip of water? This phenomenon is also known as a “hunger strike”—a flat-out refusal to eat. As frustrating and confusing as it can be, the experts have weighed in to assure us that, more often than not, it’s a completely normal phase in toddler development.

After speaking to three pediatric nutritionists, we discovered that there are some real biological and psychological things happening during this period in toddler development that have a direct effect on their eating patterns and preferences.

Growth

Babies grow very quickly, but once they hit age one, the rate of growth slows quite a bit. So, it’s not abnormal for your once ravenous child to eat less or skip meals. It’s their biological way of regulating the amount of food they actually need. “Toddlers have itty bitty stomachs and may eat less than what their adults expect from them,” says LeeAnn Weintraub, MPH, RD. “Toddlers tend to do better with a meal pattern consisting of small meals and multiple healthy snacks versus three main meals only.” If your toddler is refusing to eat, it could be because he or she is simply not hungry, she adds.

Food Neophobia

We sometimes forget just how much primal instincts define behavior. Food neophobia stems from ancestral intuition that protected humans from consuming foods that could be harmful. And while we know that the foods we serve are safe, our toddler’s innate senses might become activated by foods that appear abnormal or have an unfamiliar smell or texture (cottage cheese, anyone?).

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Temperament

The toddler phase is challenging. A need for independence can lead to battles for control while toddlers test the limits of what they can get away with. Adding a predisposition toward a strong-willed attitude can magnify mealtime issues. “It’s up to parents to monitor their own reaction while considering the personality of the child,” says Jana Greene Hand, MS, RD. Forceful feeding methods only build more resistance, she says.

So how do parents guide their children through this phase?

Certified nutritionist and self-proclaimed picky-eating expert Danielle Binns encourages parents to try—at the onset of introducing solids—her “4 E’s to Better Eating” approach to help children develop a healthy and adventurous relationship with food.

  • Enjoyment: Create a calm and enjoyable mealtime experience, removing any anxiety that can inhibit appetite.
  • Exposure to different foods: Serve a variety of foods.
  • Exploration: Encourage the exploration of foods through feel, smell, taste and touch.
  • Expansion: Gradually grow the list of foods.

Binns does, however, recognize that there are instances when a deeper assessment and plan may be needed, stating that “[…] about 47 percent of children are deemed picky eaters, and within that category, roughly 10 percent are extreme cases. Developmental picky eaters usually grow out the phase over time, while children who really struggle tend to have underlying sensory, physical and anxiety issues.”

If you’re concerned that your child’s refusal to eat is more than a developmental phase, checking in with their pediatrician to make sure their natural growth curve and labs are all within the normal range could put your mind at ease.

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Photo: The Genius of Play

Do your children like to run around the house playing their favorite superheroes? Is it hard to get that cape or mask off your kid, especially when heading out in public or for bath time? Well it turns out kids are learning critical skills while they are pretending—and it starts with the importance of imaginative play.

According to The Genius of Play, a national movement to raise awareness and promote play’s vital role in child development, spearheaded by The Toy Association, pretend play, or role play, can help build kids’ confidence and self-perception. In addition, by emulating a character’s mannerisms and maybe even conceiving their own special traits, kids learn to “think outside of the box,” explore new and different emotions, and practice language skills to communicate to others.

“Young children, facing the challenges of learning many new skills, may often feel small, helpless, fearful, unable to accomplish what they desire, or troubled—in other words, just the opposite of superheroes. Through superhero play they can feel brave, fearless, in control of their world, outside of ordinary, and just plain good.,” said Preethi Vickram, a parenting coach, educator, and entrepreneur in Bengaluru, India, and an expert contributor to TheGeniusofPlay.org.

Whether it’s playing their favorite superhero, character, or emulating someone they look up to, here are five ways that imaginative play can further help kids as they develop:

1. It Builds Leadership Skills – Even at a young age, kids learn leadership skills through their experiences. In the example of superhero play, kids get to practice the act of asserting themselves; becoming reliable, given that having “great power” means having great responsibility and a need to “get the work done;” growing their self-confidence by donning a new persona; and developing unique insights by constructing their own story lines. As leadership becomes one of the most wanted strategic qualities across industries and professions, it is critical for parents, teachers, and mentors to assist with the development of these attributes and skills in children right from an early start, Vickram said.

2. It Fosters Language and Literacy – Pretend play can provide context and meaning as kids practice communication and literacy. The idea that a letter represents a sound is based on symbolism — a concept kids come to understand when they pretend that a cardboard box is a castle, or that a shoe is a race car. Further, kids may see the relevance in writing a sign that says, “KEEP OUT,” if they pretend they are in a top secret hideout, a secret “bat cave,” or Superhero command center. Role-play also gives children a chance to use words they’ve heard adults and other kids use, improving their vocabulary.

3. It Teaches Persistence and Focus – In what has been labeled the “Batman Effect,” according to a 2016 study published in Child Development, kids who perceive themselves as their favorite superhero or character are more likely to get through a boring or difficult task without quitting. Learning perseverance, persistence, and the ability to stay focused are skills that will be called on again and again throughout their lives – in school, in sports, and in their professional careers.

4. It Supports Healthy Emotional Development – When kids engage in pretend play, it’s their way of creating fantasy worlds, characters, and plots that match their emotional state, and serves as a natural outlet to help them express and regulate their feelings, such as fear, frustration, anger, or aggression in an environment they can control. Through role play, kids can also learn to feel compassion, such as in the superhero instance where they rescue people or beat the “bad guy.”

5. It Gets Kids Moving (Which Could Lead to … Nap Time) – Active play is critical for kids’ physical development. It helps children hone their coordination, balance, gross-motor skills (large movements like crawling and walking), and fine-motor skills (smaller movements like picking objects up). Plus, physical play helps children use up their natural stores of energy, and promotes better eating and sleeping habits. And when the kids get tired from all that running around, let’s face it, what parent couldn’t do with a little break.

So let the kids stay in character – it will do them a world of good.

Anna Yudina is the Director of Marketing Initiatives for The Toy Association™, a not-for-profit trade association that represents toy companies. Currently, she’s spearheading The Genius of Play™, a parent-focused movement raising awareness of play as a crucial part of child development and encouraging families to make time for play daily.

One of the best things about growing up in LA is being just a freeway jaunt away from a gazillion (we counted) exciting experiences for young kids. In fact, the list of amazing toddler-tailored activities in LA is longer than the wait-list at any Westside preschool! Luckily, we’ve narrowed down the must-dos to these twenty, so you can spend your time on better things—like getting out there with your tots and exploring.

1. Enjoy a mid-week beach day. In February.

2. Give your tots their first lesson in art appreciation at LACMA. Between the neon noodles and the giant rock, you can make an impression on your budding young artists without the terrifying thought of stepping into one of the actual art galleries with a toddler. (That’s for when they’re big preschoolers!)

3. Visit Travel Town. Because what toddler doesn’t love trains and what LA parent doesn’t love free anything?

4. The best way to school your foodie-in-training about kale and dragon fruit (lunchbox staples) is with a visit to a weekly Farmer’s Market. That, and there are pony rides.

5. Unless you want your toddlers growing up thinking pumpkins are raised in parking lots, pay a visit to Underwood Farms during the Fall Harvest Festival.

6. Head to Disneyland before your little one’s third birthday while they still get in for free. The Happiest Place on Earth is a lot happier when it doesn’t cost more than your monthly mortgage.

7. We may not get snow, but we definitely have plenty of sand. Take a “snow day” sledding the Venice Beach sand dunes. No snow jackets needed.

8. Your toddler may scratch their head in wonder when you try to explain the concept of “rain” and “flood”, but there will be no confusion over how much fun their first visit to Noah’s Ark at the Skirball will be.

9. When you live in the movie-making capital of the world, your first movie-going experience should be either a red-carpet premiere or the newest Disney movie at the El Capitan.

10. Give those wobbly legs a workout with a sunset walk at Palisades Park in Santa Monica.

11. Teach your tots that there are “stars” other than the celebrity guests on Yo Gabba Gabba, while you get an up-close look at a real space shuttle at the California Science Center.

12. Imagine what Wilshire Boulevard must have looked like covered in mastodons instead of Mazeratis, while you watch the perpetually stuck elephants sink into the Tar Pits. (Bring a change of clothes, as this outing is more fun when parents let young paleontologists poke in the actual bubbling tar.)

13. Every pint-sized Angeleno flirts with the idea of becoming an actor at some point. Start your tiny thespians off on the right foot with a theatrical experience made just for them at one of LA’s best interactive children’s theaters.

14. Give your junior jet-setters their first lesson in air traffic watching the airplanes take off and land at LAX’s Flight Path Learning Center.

15. Your little monkeys can get in touch with their wild sides, even in this concrete jungle, with a visit to any of these amazing spots where they can get up close and personal with the animals!

16. Attend an outdoor concert. Your mini-music lovers are going to end up at Coachella someday, so the sooner you start prepping their musical taste buds and concert-going skills, the better.

17. Eating a gourmet grilled cheese from a food truck is a must-do for all future hipsters.  Plus, then the mess stays outside.

18. Ride the Metro to the Natural History Museum or Union Station. It really doesn’t matter where, the ride is the experience.

19. Go ice skating for the first time while wearing a tank top and sunglasses.

20. Taking a whirl on the Carousel at the Pier; it’s an absolute right of passage for all toddling natives. And now realize that wherever you are from, your kiddo is in fact a native Angeleno! (No matter that you’ve had them in a Red Sox cap since birth!)

Bonus:

21. Rain in LA is like a magical unicorn: a rare and elusive beast that legends say really do exist. When that day finally arrives that water pours down from the sky, grab those galoshes that have been collecting dust and go for a splash.

What’s on your toddler’s must-do list? Share your favorite activities for pint-sized tots in the comments!

—Written and Pictures by Shahrzad Warkentin

Ham and Leek Quiche

Did you know that French cooking doesn’t have to be intimidating? Just ask Claudine Pépin, the daughter of beloved chef Jacques Pépin’s. This dynamic father-daughter duo just released a cookbook entitled Kids Cook French that features simple classic dishes that parents can make together with their kids. Read on below for an easy recipe for Ham and Leek Quiche from this new book that even boasts illustrations by Jacques Pépin himself.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 leek, washed and chopped (about . cups [134 g] raw)
4 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
4 ounces (115 g) premium deli ham, diced (about 1 cup)
4 ounces (115 g) Swiss cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 (295 ml) cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 sheet (10 x 10 inches [25 x 25 cm]) unsweetened puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farm)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

2. Cut the leek in half lengthwise and wash thoroughly between each of the leaves. Cut off the top part of the leek that is dark green and leathery. (Lighter-green leaves are perfectly tender and delicious). Cut off the bottom, including the roots and about 6 mm of the white stem. Chop medium to fine, about 1 cm.

3. Saute the leeks with butter and a pinch of salt on medium-low heat, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. You may need to add a little water to prevent browning. Set aside to cool.

4. Dice the ham and grate the cheese.

5. Whisk together the 3 eggs and the 2 egg yolks. After they’re well beaten, add the cream, salt, and pepper. Stir in the grated cheese and the cooked leeks. Butter the glass pie pan with 1 to 2 teaspoons of butter.

6. Roll the 10 x 10-inch (25 x 25 cm) puff pastry to 12 x 12 inches (30 x 30 cm), about 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick. Gently press the rolled puff pastry into the buttered pie pan.

7. Use a paring knife to trim the hanging corners/edges. Press the scrap pieces onto the pastry in the pan to fill in any gaps. Prick the bottom of the dough evenly with a fork in 8 to 10 places.

8. Fill the pie shell with the egg, cream, cheese, and leek mixture, then evenly distribute the ham. Stir gently for even distribution.

9. Place the quiche on a sheet tray and into the preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes on 350°F (180°C), then lower the heat to 300°F (150°C) and bake for 1 hour, until the top is slightly browned, puffed in the middle, and a cake tester comes out clean. The crust should be thoroughly browned across the bottom.

10. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Do your kids like quiche? Leave us a comment below.

This recipe comes to us courtesy of the new book, KIDS COOK FRENCH [Quarry Books, February 2015, $21.99 US / $23.99 CAN] by Jacques Pépin’s daughter, Claudine Pépin. This book is a fun, interactive cookbook for both parents and kids that introduces them to the art and joy of cooking. Finding inspiration from the very first page, parents will soon be helping kids to learn how to make their own meals while learning better eating habits and embracing the importance of French culture. Buy the book at Amazon.com