Fuelling kids, building bonds: Fun food activities for dads and kids

Research shows that fathers today are spending more time with their kids compared to previous generations.

Here’s how you can make the most of time together and strengthen those family bonds while also encouraging healthy eating habits.

Making the most of your time together through play

Fathers act as significant role models for healthy eating within their family. However, balancing work and other family duties is not always easy.

When the school holidays roll around, maximise your time together by engaging in fun activities that not only strengthen your relationship but also promote healthy eating habits and support your child’s development. Shared activities help teach important values like patience and responsibility, while also supporting development. This could include sensory processing, learning to love food, improving gross and fine motor skills, and boosting literacy and mathematics. Now that’s good bang for your buck!

We’ve got you covered with a list of activities (complete with handy-dandy guides and resources) to help kickstart the fun.

Fun, father-child bonding activities to try out:

Cooking with kids

• Involve kids in cooking and food preparation — this teaches kids to take responsibility and pride in what they make and increases willingness to try new foods!
• Our kitchen rules provides an activity guide for creating your own home restaurant with a healthy menu.

Grocery shopping together

• Transform shopping trips from a chore to a score!
• Give your kids an interactive vegetable shopping list to help them keep count of what you need.

Reading veggie-based storybooks

• Spend quality time with your kids and encourage adventurous eating with a nutrition-themed story book. Take turns reading to help your little ones get some practice in!
• Check out our book recommendations

 Creating a veggie garden

• Get your hands dirty, and start a veggie garden with your kids! Teach them about where food comes from, while developing fine and gross motor skills.
• Reduce food waste and save money on groceries by growing food from scraps.

Engaging in sensory play sessions

• Sensory play sessions provide great hands-on activities to familiarise kids with new foods through play, while working on their sensory development and fine motor skills.
• Crunch&Sip® offers plenty of resources and activity guides, such as:

• Snack mats, where children can arrange cut vegetables on pictures to create art.
• Sensory bin activity guides, allowing children to explore different foods through their senses.
• Blind taste-test, an activity guide to sharpen their senses!

 Let’s create new family traditions and memories for both you and the little ones to treasure forever!