Little food is fantastic for fine motor skills practice. When your child has to use their pincer grip to pick up something small, the muscles that are being used are being strengthened and the movements refined. It will help them in the future with things like holding a pencil and doing up their own buttons. It's also developing their hand-eye coordination! 

I put some peas, defrosted blueberries and edamame out for August's snack. I put them in some different containers so he could manipulate the food and to make it a different challenge each time he put his hands in. I let him explore it how he wanted to. 

Displaying a snack like this is also great for exposure to new food, smells and textures. August had never had edamame before so this was a fun and non-threatening way for him to explore it. He spat out his first try but played for another 5 minutes then started eating it. WIN WIN!

Watch how August interacted with this play tray here