Pour Your Own Snack

At snack time your child pours their own drink from a small jug and serves their own snack from a bowl, doing a real part of the routine themselves. Spills are expected and part of learning.

How to do it

1. Set up a small child-sised jug with a little water or milk in it, a cup, and a bowl with a portion of a soft, non-choking snack. Place them on a low table or tray your child can reach.
2. Stay beside your child at the table. Show once how to lift the small jug with two hands and pour slowly into the cup.
3. Let your child pour their own drink. Keep the amount in the jug small so a spill is small.
4. Let them serve their own snack from the bowl into their plate using a spoon or their hands.
5. Have a cloth ready and invite your child to help wipe any spills as part of the routine.

What you need

• Small jug
• Cup
• Bowl
• Snack
• Cloth

Make it yours

Younger, 2-3 years: Pre-fill the jug with only a splash, use a spouted small jug, and expect the parent to help steady it. Older, 4 years and up: Let them fill the jug themselves from a larger container first, and lay out the snack for a sibling too. No-jug variant: Use a small measuring cup to pour from instead of a jug.