University of Iowa Study Says Toddlers Who Are Messy Eaters Learn More

If your toddler seems to get more food ON themselves than IN themselves, don't worry about it! A study from researchers at the University of Iowa say that toddlers who are messy eaters actually learn more.

The research says that when toddlers get messy with their food, like smearing pudding on their faces and in their hair and dumping their applesauce on their heads, they are actually readying themselves to start talking or even add words to an already budding vocabulary.

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The University of Iowa research team, led by Larissa Samuelson - an associate professor in psychology - studied how 16-month old toddlers learn and associate words for non-solid foods. As to be expected, the toddlers, more than willingly, started poking, touching, feeling, eating and throwing their food, almost as if they were trying to understand what the foods were and trying to make the correct association with pretend names they would attach to the foods.

As the study continued over time, the researchers found that the toddlers that interacted the most with their foods, were eventually more likely to correctly identify those foods by names - and other foods as well - by their texture.

This study doesn't mean that your toddler will be a genius if they manage to get food all over themselves, the floor, the walls and anybody who may be passing by, but it could mean they will have a greater chance of learning new skills - which could continue into adulthood. (The learning new skillls part - not the throwing food part!)

Source: Heartland Time

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