Kids want to be independent and to do things on their own. This is especially true for their own snacks. They would much prefer to be able to open them on their own than wait for you to open the package and hand the snack to them.
Opening the Packaging
Opening snacks requires fine motor skills and patience. There is a nice article from The Inspired Treehouse that outlines several activities that help build the fine motor skills required for kids to open their own snacks. The article is titled Encouraging Independence With Food Wrappers and Packages, and I recommend that you check it out.
Each different type of package requires different skills and techniques:
- Pre-packaged snack bags: Lots of yummy snacks, like chips, pretzels, and dried or gummy fruit come in snack bags, which are opened using the pinch, pinch, pull method. Pinch the top front of the snack bag, pinch the top back of the bag, and then pull. The first few tries, you may see the snack flying everywhere, but your child will quickly learn exactly how hard and fast to pull to open the bag without exploding the contents. A good video that demonstrates this is by Sandy Hamilton, Help your child open their snack and juice packages.
- Resealable bags: These are even frustrating for adults as well. Resealable bags that have a sliding zipper are much easier for small fingers than ZIPLOC® bags (though this is much better and easier to explain to kids with the new Easy Open Tabs). These are opened similar to the pre-packaged bags but by grasping the two sides of the top instead of below the seal. Give them the opportunity at home to practice before opening these items.
- Fruit and yogurt cups: These two things open the same way, but fruit cups, with all the juice they contain, are much more difficult. Place the cup firmly on a tabletop. Then have your child grab the tab with the other hand and rotate their hand/wrist to peel back the top. Another way is to hold the cup on an angle against the tabletop, so that the juice is away from the tab, opening it just a little bit, and then setting the cup down flat and opening it the rest of the way. Until your child masters these types of containers I recommend transferring the contents to a re-usable plastic container.
Peeling Fruit
Fresh fruit is the ultimate healthy snack. But two fruits, bananas and oranges, present unique challenges to children. Here is something for each:
- Bananas: From when I was a small child and for the next few decades, I always peeled my bananas from the neck (or stalk) end. This is extremely difficult for small hands unless the banana is very, very ripe. There is a new method, which is much, much easier and has been growing in popularity, which is to peel the banana from the flower tip (the black, blunt end), which is explained in this video:
- Oranges: This fruit poses a particular challenge for small fingers that do not have the strength to poke a hole in the peel to get the process started. I suggest that you watch the following video. Then you send the oranges to school with your child with the cut in the peel already made and let them do the rest.
Teach your child how to peel bananas and oranges. Show them how to unwrap cheese sticks. The more they can do by themselves the more independent they will feel especially at school.
Practice
Now that you have seen the challenges, you need to find opportunities to practice snacking and lunch skills. Go on a picnic even if it’s in your own backyard. Make a lunchbox just like they would have at school on days off. Make it a fun learning experience. Let your child help you make and pack up the lunches. Don’t forget to bring something to drink, like milk!
