Mealtime independence

Mealtimes at school are fun and sociable times. It’s a chance to chat and learn more about each other.

Give your child lots of opportunities to develop their independence around mealtimes so they can get used to it before school.

In Reception class, children will:

  • Put their own straw into a milk carton.
  • Drink from a cup that doesn’t have a lid.
  • Carry items from the kitchen hatch to their table.
  • Use a knife and fork to eat their meal and use a knife to cut.
  • Peel their own fruit such as oranges and bananas.

Top Tip

It's good to sit together to eat as often as you can. This could be at home or when you are out and about.

Ways to practise at home

Scooping and pouring

Put out a spoon, some empty bowls and some bowls of cereal, dried pasta or rice. Let your child spoon the mixture from one to the other.

Pouring games with jugs, cups and water in the bath or at the sink are a fun way to practise.

Mealtimes

Try to encourage your child to eat meals themselves and to use a knife, fork and spoon. Help them to use their fork to hold the food still whilst you show them how to cut with a knife.

Encourage your child to try different foods. It will help them feel confident to choosing new foods at school.

Where to start

  • Salt dough
    Set up the table like you would for dinner. Instead of food add salt dough to the table, encourage your child to use their knife and fork to independently cut the salt dough into pieces. You could ask them to make a cake, add things like dried spaghetti or food that they could use to decorate it and then ask them to cut you a slice. This is a fun way to learn how to use their cutlery.
  • Tray time
    At school your child may have to carry their own dinner on a tray to the table. You could practice this at home by turning it into a game and asking them to carry things from one room to another on a tray. Start off by only putting one or two items on the tray to start off with. You can build up the number of items on the tray each time you play.
  • Playing board games/card games at the table is a fun way for your child to practice sitting for longer periods of time. This will help them learn to sit at the table during mealtime.

Things to try next

  • Fruit kebabs
    You and your child can make fruit kebabs together. Let your child pick what fruit they would like to use and encourage them to peel and cut the fruit independently (remember not to use a sharp knife). Once they’ve cut the fruit they will push it onto a kebab stick, make sure they’re careful around the pointy end. Children love activities that encourage independence.
  • Water play
    Set up some water play for your child. Add in jugs and cups. Encourage your child to independently pour the water from the jug into a cup. This will help teach your child the control needed to pour their own drink.
  • Look through a recipe book with your child. Let them choose a recipe for you to bake/cook together. You may want to make a recipe card for this for your child to follow. Encourage your child to do things independently when baking/cooking together, e.g. mixing, pouring the ingredients in, cracking an egg, etc.

If you feel like your child needs more support…

Start with these tips below.

  • If your child is finding this priority a little tricky, rather than giving your child a whole plate of food to cut up, try leaving them some to do independently.
  • You could start off by just giving them the tray to carry before adding items onto it. This will allow them to get used to carrying the tray. Or you could also start off by carrying it together before slowly encouraging them to carry it independently.
  • If they are finding it a little tricky to manage both their knife and fork, encourage your child to use their fork to hold the food still and in place whilst you model cutting it with the knife. After a while, see if your child wants to swap with you and have a go at cutting whilst you hold use the fork. Keep working on those scooping skills to, so they become confident with using a spoon.

Top Tip

Be patient! Spills will happen. Give your child time to try and do things for themselves.

Books

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Puffin, 2002)
  • Oliver’s Fruit Salad by Vivian French and Alison Bartlett (Hodder Children’s Books, 1998)

Helpful links

This page is part of our Ready Steady School series, helping you and your little one get ready for school.

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