How does your toddler actually learn to use a spoon?

Research shows that social interactions with family members is a prime time for your toddler to pick up new skills, like using a spoon independently. 

Social interactions at mealtimes 

Your toddler most probably eats with other people when they sit down for a meal. They have likely watched you, other family members and possibly friends eat during mealtimes. 

Learning through modelling – preparing a spoonful 

When you move food into scoopable chunks with a spoon, you're showing your toddler how they can use a spoon.  

According to research, your toddler will watch how your hands use a spoon while eating and how you might turn a bowl around to make it easier to get the food.^[1]  

Letting them see how you use your hands and spoon while you eat, and by helping them while they eat, encourages them to think and learn about how to use a spoon for themselves.^[2] 

Using a spoon for feeding 

During the research, when adults loaded food onto spoons the toddlers again watched what the adults’ hands were doing. More often than not, the toddlers would then attempt to load food onto their spoon.  

After the toddlers had attempted to feed themselves, they typically looked at their caregiver's face.  

Using a spoon to play with 

Naturally, the toddlers didn't just use a spoon for eating. During mealtimes, it was common for them to shake, throw or bang their spoons. 

According to one study, toddlers typically looked at their caregivers' faces after discovering uses for their spoons other than feeding themselves. It is thought that they were assessing the situation to see what response they may get! 

The need for feedback 

What's interesting is that both studies suggest that toddlers will watch a caregiver's hand when they are exploring spoon-use options for themselves, and that when they want feedback on their spoon-use, they will look at their caregiver's face.^[1] 

So, enjoying meals and snacks together might not only help your toddler feel relaxed and confident about food, but also teach them how to feed themselves.

References: 

[1] Nonaka, T., Stoffregen, T.A. (2020) Social interaction in the emergence of toddler’s mealtime spoon use. Dev Psychobiol. 2020 Dec;62(8):1124-1133. doi: 10.1002/dev.21978.   

[2] Kobe University. (2020) Do toddlers learning to spoon-feed seek different information from caregivers' hands and faces? ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 5, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/12/201228095304.htm