Baby Physical Development: Breakfast Cereal Game

Hone baby's fine motor skills with oodles of O's.

Submitted by
Laura

This simple cereal game will help develop your kid's pincer grasp, drop and release skills, raking and scooping skills, and hand-eye coordination. Who needs all those fancy "developmental" toys when you have Cheerios? Go ahead, let him play with his food to develop baby's physical development!

Your kid:
a.k.a, the Raking-Scooping-Drop-and-Release Genius.
Breakfast cereal:
Something that's easy to pick up and easy to eat if you have no teeth (e.g., no granola clusters).
A highchair:
Or a little table and chair for older toddlers.
A cup or bottle

Begin by demonstrating your own genius moves. Let your kid watch while you drop a piece of cereal into a cup or bottle.
Then dump it out onto your kid's highchair tray or the table.
Pick the piece of cereal up again with your expert pincer grasp and put it back into the cup or bottle. Ta da! Your kid will be intrigued and might even give you a look that says, "Wow, Mom, you're one brilliant babe!"
Now encourage your kid to do it. Help him drop the cereal into the cup or bottle.
Then hand him the bottle or cup and encourage him to fish or dump the cereal out. Try not to jump in and do it for him unless he gets visibly frustrated. The only way he'll learn is by trying it himself.
Repeat again and again as long as he'll sit there. If he chucks a Cheerio into his mouth (or on the floor), just grab another and keep the game going. Fun and fiber all in one!