I'd never heard of Josefine Bentzen before today either; she's a designer and has come up with some rather nifty looking, and practical, redesigns of things for kids - like this chunky cutlery.
So, Josefine took a look at how young babies start trying to get to grips with cutlery; grasping it in their fists rather than the pincer-type grip we use as opposable-thumb-controlled adults. They say that little kiddies who use this cutlery gain a 'remarkable sense of control and accuracy' and so increase in eating-with-cutlery confidence because they're so easy for them to use.
I have two problems with this.
One, is the £29.99 price tag for a knife, fork and spoon - chunky, easy to use, with no BpA, Phthalates or PVC whilst being dishwasher and microwave safe they may be, but worth 30 quid? I don't think so.
My other 'problem' is this: if they make eating with a closed fist so easy, how is this going to help them move on to eating with normal cutlery? Let me explain my reasoning with a puppy example...
- Person A house trains their puppy in stages by teaching them to pee on newspaper in the house first; they gradually reduce the number of sheets around the house and move the remaining ones towards the back door, then eventually the garden.
The thinking is you'll eventually teach your puppy to pee outside, without the need for newspaper. However, what often happens is the puppy will pee on your Guardian newspaper whenever you're careless enough to leave it on the floor by the side of your chair.
- Person B (the smart one) takes their puppy outside to the garden regularly, from the word go, and cuts out the newspaper middle-man. Yes, it requires a bit of extra work, time and effort but the end result is the same.
So tell me, if your child takes a little longer learning to eat with normal cutlery from the get-go, will it save them having to learn the process twice - moving from fingers to Josefine Bentzen cutlery to normal cutlery?
Perhaps I'm just being massively cynical? Views please!
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