How do you teach a child to use chopsticks?

[hollyhobbie]

Just what the title says really (DD is nearly 3 and interested):
How do you do it?
What age to kids normally start to use them?
Do you need those 'sprung' ones?

DH and I use them fairly often, but learned to use them as adults. Neither of us are from a background where chopsticks are normally used, so I'm just curious how Asian families go about teaching their use?

Hi Hollyhobbie

I'm not Asian so I can't tell you that, but when I was a child my Mum had made some easy to use chopsticks by attaching them together with the wire bit from a clothes peg. Then they were sprung together and I suppose we used them a bit like pegs to begin with.

As we became a bit more deft, we removed the wires and hey presto learnt to use them more efficiently. I'm not a pro by any means, but I can wolf down a Chinese pretty damn quick and pick up all the single grains of rice - I thank my Mother and her clothes peg wires !

FreddyRed

We got ones that are all in one piece from a cookery shop. The 2 'sticks' are joined at the top with a horse or a chicken or something else. ds started by just stabbing food with one of the prongs. But he can now do bigger bits of chicken properly - slowly - but properly.
I bet you could prob get the all in ones off ebay or something - I'm sure they were only a couple of quid.

i think ikea do the ones tracy is talking about

maybe that's where dh got them - not sure.

Never mind the dc, I am RUBBISH at using chopsticks and so we bought some Rookie stix from ikea

if you go to wagamamas they have those sprung ones for the kids as well.

My step gandad who was chinese used to roll up a napkin and use an elastic band as a hinge for me and my sister, we both now use chopsticks pretty well and all our children (babies asdie but gie us time) do as well. I also really like the wagamama ones if you ask nicely they normally give you loads!

Oooh, thanks all. The clothes peg idea will be great until we get a trip to Ikea or Wagamama organised.
And age-wise, when do kids start to learn? Is it just the same age as when western kids would start with fork/knife?

Chopstick holders

bleh, why am I encouraging people to buy cheap tat.

My MiL bought those for my son.

my parents owned a peking reaturant in which i worked for 11 years and was constantly asked to teach the lo's how to use chopsticks, i used to just put a elastic band round the end to join the 2 ends of the sticks together.....always worked!........although i was always clearing up piles of rice from the carpet!

Thanks all!
Don't worry yetanothername - we're on a thrift-drive so no buying cheap tat for me!

My kids learned with these Rookie Sticks

Or a put a pad of paper folded up between the sticks and secure with an elastic band on the ends, not too tight though and arrange so the sticks are open about and inch or so at the food end.

Oh don't look at that site you might never come back .