11/09/2026
Scooping and pouring might look simple, but there are lots of skills developing as children become more intentional with these movements.
You might notice these skills:
Around 6-12 months: exploring containers with their hands, dropping objects in, tipping them out and watching what happens.
Around 12-18 months: scooping and pouring starts to become more intentional. They may attempt to use a spoon or scoop, although plenty will still end up on the floor!
Around 18-24 months: greater control develops. Children may begin transferring materials between containers with more accuracy and adjusting how they hold and move the scoop.
Around 2-3 years: movements become increasingly coordinated. They can begin judging how much to scoop, controlling the speed of a pour and aiming for smaller containers.
What’s most important? Children develop these skills through lots of repetition.
To support this at home, keep it simple. Try a bowl of water with cups in the bath, containers in the sandpit, a scoop with dry cereal at snack time, or spoons and containers during sensory play.
Different sized containers and scoops give children opportunities to adjust their movements, experiment and problem solve.
Then give them plenty of time to do it again... and again... and again.
SAVE this for an easy play idea to try at home.
