This past week while Annabelle and I were rocking it out at a Jammin Javas kid show, I noticed my social toddler introducing herself to the other kids (innocent enough) and then signing “more” to communicate “I want your food. Give it to me.”
Since we are attempting to teach our dd how to be polite (and refrain from mooching), I usually step in and try to distract Annabelle with some of our own food even though, for some reason unbeknown to all mothers across the universe, she like other toddlers prefers the novelty of anyone else’s food and or sippy cup.
What struck me on this particular occasion as I watched my daughter mooch food was the food container that the other child was holding: a no-spill container full of Cheerios. There were no Cheerios on the floor. No, the Cheerios remained safe, sound, and unspilled inside a nifty little bowl with a flexy top that allowed the child to safely extract a couple Cheerios at a time without feeding the floor.
I made a mental note that I would search on-line for a similar no-spill bowl after my monthly vow of buying nothing is over.
And then last night as I was preparing dinner, I got an idea.
I would make my own no-spill container for Annabelle’s Cheerios. So here’s what I did:
1. Find a #1 recycle-able container, or other safe plastic disposable container. Note: to keep food safe and uncontaminated, do not heat food in disposable container since heat encourages chemicals in plastic to leech into food.
2. Use a sharp pair of scissors or a knife (be careful!) to make an X incision in the removable container’s lid.
3. Cut incisions far enough so that the opening is flexible and easy to get in and out of.
4. Add snack food. Secure lid to container. Voila! A homemade no-spill snack container.
My homemade snack container is just as useful as a store bought container, and similar to some of the other containers on the market it’s disposable and recycle-able. Thanks to Crunchy Chicken, I found a way to create what I needed and did not make an unneccessary purchase to do so.
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I did this too! But it seemed like the lid was kind of scratchy. My LO has not figured out how to use it yet.. she does not seem to like reaching through the top. I even rounded off the corners of the X (which makes small cereal fall out if she turns it upside down..)
Just to follow up, today we brought our snack trap with us to an API meeting and the other kids loved it. Annabelle shared her snacks, made friends, and there was no mess to clean up (for the most part =)–kids drop food on the ground, so I have yet to discover how to remedy that one.