Observation of Eating Behavior and Spoon Design for 3-10 year-old Children

摘要

The purpose of present study was to observe the eating behavior and evaluate the design of spoon for children. It was expected that improved the eating comfortably and ensured the safety. The present investigation consisted of two stages. In the first, a questionnaire was used to survey the customer behaviors for purchasing dining utensils and determine preferences with respect to various concern factors. In the second phase, an observation experiment was used to record eating behavior response to various spoon designs. A digital video camera was mounted on a tripod and frontal view was taken at a distance of 90 cm between the subject and lens. A total of 849 parents which have children from 3 to 10 years old were interviewed. Results of questionnaire revealed that about 56% and 54% of participants considered the keeping cleanliness and heat-resistant respectively as extremely important factor when choosing spoons. In addition, fragile level and made material were also important factors. By contrast, only 28% of participants reported the size of spoons as the extremely important factor. Results of analysis showed that hand sizes were significant difference among age levels. Thus, the good spoon design should depend on the children hand size, and design for various size. In observation experiment, thirty-four children were observed on eating ball cakes with seven various spoons. The length of spoons were from 75 mm to 159 mm and volume of spoons were from 2.5 cc to 17 cc. Results of behavior analysis revealed that subjects always took the tail position of spoon and ladled out snacks. Subjects raised his forearm higher while took more length spoon. Thus, the length of spoon could affect the eating behavior. However, the sizes of spoon were not the high priority in purchasing for children. Therefore, manufacturers should make products available in various sizes to accommodate different users at least four sizes for children and various sizes of spoons were based on hand length plus 30 mm.