“Training Wheels” for Chopsticks

While I was in Las Vegas at the Romance Novel Convention, I had the pleasure of having dinner with the beautiful author Suzan Tisdale. We ate at a hibachi grill in the hotel where the convention was held.  She had never used chopsticks before and I told her how I “trained” my kids to use them and promised her I would write a blog post about it (that is the awesome and lovely author Piper Shelly looking on) (thank you author Jaimey Grant for snapping this picture!)

This week, our family had the opportunity to go out with friends to — another hibachi grill!  So, I was able to take advantage of my phone camera so I could show you what to do.

You need a small rubber band.  Most restaurants with chopsticks are going to have rubber bands for this purpose, but we usually bring our own.

Use the paper that the chopsticks came in and fold it up into a thick square.

Place it in between the two chopsticks and use the rubber band to secure it in place.

That is seriously all you have to do.

Now your children can use chopsticks, too.  And will eventually learn how to use them without the training aid.

When chopsticks are available, my children will insist on eating the entire meal with them.  It’s a wonderful tool to teach them dexterity and coordination, so I encourage it.