Toddlers absolutely love being independent. As my daughter's skills and capabilities grow, I'm on the lookout for ways to give her more responsibility (not like chores, just opportunities). The other day I decided to teach her how to set the table, so I got some thick A3 paper, sat down with her, and traced the outlines of our plates and cutlery onto each sheet, with her watching. I explained that this was to help her to know where to put everything.
I asked her to put each 'placemat' on the table, and then I laid out the plates and cutlery on a tray, which I placed near our table. It was very sweet to see her carefully (and very seriously) laying everything out on the placemats for dinner, and she was so proud that she did it "all by myself, Mummy"! Next time I'm at the shops, I'll be looking out for a small water pitcher so that she can start to pour our waters too.
**Note: If you're thinking of doing this with your toddler, remember to supervise! Teach your child how to hold the knives (butter knives in our case) and the plates/glasses properly, and be close at hand to intervene before accidents happen.
Your placemat is a great idea! My fella sets the table for us too, but this would certainly help with placement :-)
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, we had a few days of all the cutlery to the left of the plates and all the plates (nearly) in the centre of the table! This did help, for sure. Hope it helps for your Little Man too! :D
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