It’s summer and it’s HOT! What better way to cool down than ice cream…..or a smoothie! With technology at our fingertips at any given moment, you can find many recipes for smoothies. It’s a great way to incorporate fruits and veggies into our children’s(sometimes picky children’s)diet. What you probably didn’t know is that this is a great way for your kiddos mouth to work a little harder and differently to drink. Make it fun by giving them a silly straw to drink it from. This will provide awareness to their lips and tongue, as well as extra work while they are sucking through the straw. It could be an easier way for children to learn to drink from an open cup since the liquid is thicker and won’t go so fast as they learn to tip the cup to gauge the amount of liquid to swallow. You can easily play around with the consistency, whether you want it more like a milkshake or a smoothie. When they are old enough, have them help add the ingredients and teach them the names of what is going into the smoothie, and the actions that go along with it(cut, mix, pour, etc). Then enjoy a cool treat during the dog days of summer! For more information about picky eaters, see the resources tab for a helpful and informative website!
