My 2.5-year-old daughter has been eating sushi for nearly as long as she has been on solid foods. By the time she was a 1.5 years old, she could open edamame pods by herself, and she’s currently a big fan of miso soup and California rolls. However, my tot still hasn’t mastered using chopsticks.
But we’re working on it with the help of today’s hint: Training chopsticks. After going to the ABC Kids Expo baby gear show in Las Vegas last fall, I realized there are many inexpensive training chopsticks on the market, as well as a wealth of even cheaper DIY options. For those of you who also want to teach your little ones how to wield chopsticks, here’s a look at some of the trainers.
The cute duck design. If you’re willing to shell out a few dollars to get a ready-made training pair, I like Piyo Piyo’s cute and ergonomic duck-resembling design, great for right-handed young kids. After seeing the roughly $7 product at the ABC show, I added it to my second baby gift registry and received it as a gift. Now, my daughter is honing her skills with the help of her special duck chopsticks, which she asks for whenever we bring in takeout sushi.
If your child isn’t a fan of ducks, there are a number of training designs on the market resembling other creatures, including those from Petty Edison and Munch Stix (recommended by Cool Mom Picks).
The easy DIY option. Some of you may already know this, but it turns out you can easily make a pair of training chopsticks using just a pair of disposable chopsticks and a rubber band. There are a number of online DIY chopstick tutorials, including over at Apartment Therapy, Lifehacker, Mama OT and CampClem.
The easiest DIY option. If you have simple ice tongs around your home that you’re willing to let your very young child use, they can work as early training chopsticks of sorts too.
What are your favorite training chopsticks – DIY or store-bought – and why?
Follow Hint Mama on Facebook and Twitter, and read more about her and her disclosures.
[…] in Point: My 2.5-year-old daughter, a big sushi fan, loves using her Munch Stix training chopsticks to try and pick up fruit like strawberries. Then, […]