We’ve tried a fair number of eating utensils: regular utensils, Asian soup spoons, the maroon spoon and the swivel spoon. The utensils that work best are Dollar Store ones that have been heated and bent by our OT. When it comes to utensils, cheaper is actually better. Thinner metal and plastic heat and bend more easily and these slide into the U-cuff nicely because the handles are flat. (Our U-cuffs come from here.)
The first time our OT modified the utensils, they worked great at OT. But when we got home, they weren’t working at all; the angle was off. Finally I realized that the booster seat height was different at OT than our home booster. We ended up taking our booster seat with us to OT a few times to make sure we had the table to seat ratio correct.
The other thing we have found is that when eating cereal or soup, it’s hard for Ying* to reach the bottom of the bowl. A wooden chopping block raises the bowl to just the right height. We had a related issue when camping this past weekend. When sitting at a picnic table in a booster seat, she was too far from the edge of the table. We ended up putting the top of a Rubbermaid storage tote on top of the picnic table, essentially extending the table’s edge and bringing the food to her.
Now for the question: We have a short road trip coming up. Road trips are always a bit tricky with little kids. But there’s the added complication of the limb differences. Things Ying can do at home, she can’t do in the car. Books are out, as is the ever car-worthy Magnadoodle, and coloring (the arm is too short and her feet can turn pages only when a book is flat.) That leaves a few obvious choices like movies on the Tablet and audio books. Surely there are other options I’m missing? Otherwise it might be a REALLY long car ride.
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* It’s gotten really cumbersome to keep saying “my daughter” or “my son.” For privacy reasons, I’d prefer not to use their real names. So I’m giving my kids blog names. My daughter from hereon out is Ying and my son Luk Chaai. I’m sure that will make things immeasurably easier!
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