Nutrition for small children: the right cutlery makes eating fun

The most important things in brief

• Of course there is no substitute for healthy and varied food for your toddler.
• You can also set incentives for small children to improve their diet.
• One nice idea, for example, is to introduce the child to the use of cutlery and crockery at an early age.
• This makes a meal for the little ones even more exciting and interesting.

Toddlers learn primarily through observation and imitation. As with most things that they acquire in this way, this also applies to the intake of food - i.e. nutrition. Healthy aspects and variety have top priority here, but there are other ways to get toddlers to have more fun with food. For example children's cutlery.

Children's crockery and cutlery arouse interest in nutrition

Of course you have to watch for the right moment. Babies can sometimes hold food in their hands themselves, such as bread or vegetable sticks, at just a few months old. But that doesn't mean that children's cutlery makes sense - from a motor perspective, it's obviously more difficult to hold a spoon than a slice of apple.

As parents, you can of course best assess the situation when the right moment for children's cutlery has come. In this case, the motto "practice early" is not wrong at all. And if it still doesn't work, just keep trying every few days until your toddler gets the hang of the spoon and porridge. You will see that your child will then be proud of itself - which it can and should be. Encourage your protégé when trying to use children's cutlery for the first time. And if the porridge hits the floor by the spoonful: There are worse things.

Joy with your own spoon

It is important that your child feels strengthened during the experiments. This is quickly joined by the joy of having your first porridge spoon, which opens up a whole new world of aromas. This is how small children discover food – preferably healthy food, of course – at an early age. And it doesn't just have to stay with children's cutlery. You can get your own drinking cups with or without a straw for the little ones. Your own plates, snack containers and bowls are always a good idea.

Being able to own something of your own awakens positive associations, even in children, which from now on they associate with food intake. And for this it is important that the recognition value is given. That's why children's crockery and cutlery are important things. Serve your little one's porridge in a brightly colored, kid-sized bowl (and not one of those you keep in the kitchen cupboard) and it'll be much more likely to grab the child's attention. And the recognition value is also significantly higher.

Beautiful cutlery makes eating an experience

Last but not least, a normal meal becomes a really nice experience for your toddler when he understands that he can always use his own cutlery. It goes without saying that children's cutlery and crockery should be beautifully designed and, above all, safe. Ideally, cutlery and crockery should be dishwasher-safe and therefore not cause a great deal of effort when cleaning.