A must-see for families with elementary school students who have a lot of food spills! "Three things" to review | Benesse education information site

[1] Sit with correct posture

To reduce food spillage, it is important to sit in the correct posture. Sit back in your chair and leave a fist's width between you and the table. When you actually try it, you may think it's pretty close, but when the table and body are this close, it's called "dog eating", and it's not a way to eat with your mouth close to the tableware like a dog. Well, it shouldn't be hard to stoop. Also, even if you spill food, you can do it on the table.

The height of your chair is also important to maintain proper posture. The height should be such that when you sit on a chair and put your hands on the table, your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. I think that more children will use dining chairs for adults when they reach elementary school, but if they sit on them, they are often too low, so put firm cushions on them and adjust the height.

【2】Using Chopsticks Correctly

Chopsticks are two sticks, but they are very convenient tools that can be used in a variety of ways, such as pinching, cutting, pinching, rolling, mixing, and scooping. By mastering the various ways to use chopsticks, you will be able to beautifully carry traditional Japanese dishes such as beans, simmered dishes, and grilled fish to your mouth, thereby reducing food spillage.

Even elementary school students say that if they use chopsticks, they tend to spill a lot of food and eat slowly, so some families have them use spoons and forks even in Japanese food. does not improve. You won't be able to hold chopsticks by yourself, so it's important to teach people how to hold chopsticks properly and eat politely in their daily meals.

The parents may get frustrated at first because it doesn't go well, but please be patient with them. I think it's good to practice while having fun apart from eating. I recommend practicing holding a wet towel with chopsticks. Practice picking up a wet towel with chopsticks, folding it, pinching the edges, rolling it up, and unfolding it. By holding the weighted oshibori in various ways with your chopsticks, you should be able to learn how to use it in a variety of ways.

It may be difficult for small children or children who cannot hold chopsticks correctly to suddenly switch from spoons to chopsticks. In that case, it would be a good idea to gradually increase the chances of using chopsticks, such as saying, "Would you like to eat omelet with chopsticks today?" And if you do well, give lots of praise.

【3】Serving food one by one

In order to reduce food spillage, I think it's a good idea to serve food on a plate for each person. However, it is difficult to serve each meal individually like a restaurant. If you are serving a large plate, prepare a serving plate and chopsticks or a server for sharing. When picking up food, place a platter near you and then place it on your serving plate.

When picking up a plate, use your right hand to pick up the plate on the right, and your left hand to pick up the plate on the left. If you have seasonings or a large dish in a place away from you, it is good manners to ask the people around you, "Would you like some soy sauce?" This is to avoid the etiquette violation of ``sode over'', where you cover yourself and others around you with your hands. It prevents the sleeves of clothes from hitting the bowl and getting dust in, or knocking over the dishes with your hands and arms. At a dinner party, some people think it's bad to let other people take the seasonings, so they extend their hands or arms to other people's tables, but it's actually very rude. "Sodegoshi" is an etiquette that is often overlooked, so be careful at home.

When you change your attitude toward food, your life changes

I think that the dining table is a very good place for education. This is because you can learn about the culture and economy of the world through communicating with people and food, as well as feeling gratitude for the people who cook your food and the ingredients. I would like you to cherish this precious opportunity, which comes three times a day. By eating carefully, children not only have less food spillage, but also have the effect of eliminating likes and dislikes because they are motivated to eat. By all means, I would like you to start working on what you can do at your daily dining table.