do yours eat with utensils yet?

everytime i've given my girls utensils, they throw them down, and when i've tried to feed them with spoons and stuff, they try to grab it out of my hand and we end up in a tug of war, they are really strong! lol, so we're just doing 'hand' eating with everything, even things like spaghetti, etc. anyone else in the same boat?

also, i read in a parents magazine that they are supposed to have a 90 word vocab by 18 months!!!! omg they've got a lot of learning in the next 2 months, like about 85 more words! sheesh!

 

Mine use forks but spoons still make a mess.

 

That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!!! I think mine are doing well---DD has more words than DS---but we're no where near 90. I did hear that language really explodes after 18 months, so maybe that's what they mean?

Anyway, back to the utensils thing.... Mine won't use them either. We keep trying & trying, but they just aren't interested. I got them to use spoons for a little bit last night when I gave them chocolate pudding (hoorah! I thought). But I tried it again today & they just held the spoon in one hand & stuck their other hand in the pudding & put that hand in their mouths. So we'll keep trying & I figure they'll figure it out sooner or later.

 

no utensils here - i figure they'll want them eventually & no big deal if they want to eat with their hands until then. i read an article on toddler eating habits recently in which the expert they were interviewing theorized that part of why we might see such a huge decrease in the amount of food toddlers eat is because we make them eat with utensils & so it's a lot less fun for them. he said it's just an idea he's been entertaining & that he really would like to study it more in depth but i thought that was kind of interesting.

as for words, my girls have about 87.5 more to go in 2.5 months! ardon: they say mama & dada & i think they say keekee for cat although that one's very random. i'm not too worried about it. they haven't hit a single milestone "on time" yet but their doc isn't worried so i'm choosing not to either. or at least that's the plan.

 

Mine really did not get the hang of forks until around 18 months. Now at 21 months, they are pretty good with them. We still need to work on spoons, but that is my fault. Using spoons means they and the floor will get very messy and I've been putting it off for awhile.

When they use their forks I make a big production out of it. I clap and yell and it makes them want to use them all the time.

I have heard the same thing about words. Both of my boys are in speech therapy and within the last month they have finally begun to say a few words....but nowhere near 90!

Another thing I find interesting is that I had bought used What To Expect The Toddler Years. I did not realize at the time but it was from 1985 In 1985 they said by 18 months they should know 6 words. So in the past 24 years someone along the way decided they were wrong and increased it to 90 :unknw:

It's been very slow with the therapy but I know they will eventually catch up so I'm not too worried about it.

 

I'm wondering if the 90 word vocabulary is what they understand vs. what they can speak? My kids understand a lot but they certainly do not speak 90 words. I think at 18 months our pedi was happy that they could say 10-15 words.
Mine have a pretty good handle on how to use a fork. My DD likes to eat with a fork and will ask for it. My DS can use the fork but eats with it about half the time. As for the spoon, mine did the same tug of war thing for it. They have a little more difficulty with the spoon and are still learning how to use it at 21 months.

 

I haven't even attempted to give mine utensils yet. I know they can use them because the sitter lets them use them there. Honestly, I don't want to deal with the mess right now. Maybe in a few more months I'll get over my clean eating obssession and let them use them.

As far as 90 words by 18 months, that MUST be receptive language, not expressive. Even my oldest who had very advanced language for her age, didn't have 90 words at 18 months. Samantha has around 20 now and Mallory has around 10.

 

Mine didn't really start wanting to get the hang of them until 2 years of age. Before that it was more frustration then anything because I'd push it and they'd throw them or use them as anything but a fork/spoon. ardon: They'll get it before you know it, they learn quickly!! :hug:

 

Mine will eat the more sticky foods like oatmeal and mashed potatoes from a spoon but not from a fork yet.

They don't really have a vocabulary yet. Just Mom, Mommy, Mama, Dad, Daddy, Dada. Kiefer has said Woo (his version of woof) and only one time said fairly clearly, "Yes he did!" in response to me telling him how Cameron did not mean to hit him in the head with the bucket. :blink: He's never said anything like that again. I still wonder if I just thought I heard it, but DH heard it too. That sentence was actually the first time I heard him say anything beyond Dada and Mama.

 

We've just started using forks and they did a lot better than I thought they would. They have a terrible time with the spoons, but I dont worry about it.

90 words sounds like a lot for 18 months. My girls say about 5 words each( and it's funny to me they are different words). I think 90 is way too many.

 

as for utensils, I've been offering "loaded" spoons of oatmeal and other things that will stick well to the spoon to them for months (they are 17.5 months now). for the most part they do great at getting the loaded spoon to their mouth and they used to just throw it down when done - ugh! i've worked really hard this last month to say "give it back to mama" and really praise them when they do... at least I don't have to get it from the floor then. I also make a big deal about asking if they want "more"... I try to make them sign "more" and "please" to show me they want more... Because if they don't want more... then that spoon really does get tossed on the floor. anyway, for the most part it works good. I need to get brave and let them try to get the oatmeal mix themselves from a bowl w/their own spoon.

i see from many of you that they do good with forks, I must try that again...

as for words, yes 90 seems way too high. I asked my pedi what they expected at the 18 mo visit and I thought he said 3-6 words... I'm barely there... but at least they are finally getting words. we have mama, dada, (ba)nana, bubbles, ball and maybe shoes - we think we heard this yesterday!

 

Mine use them 1/2 the time but their fingers seem to always find their way in their food. Utensils are always offered and they don't do to bad for the most part.

You might be surprised at how many words your kids say once you write them down - these are the words that I can think of off the top of my head and I know there are more...don't think there is anywhere near 90 though....

Mama/Mommy, Dadda/Daddy, Dog, Happy, Elmo (does this count LOL), Ball, Duck, Baby, Cookie, Thank, You, Milk, Potty, Kitty, I, You, No, Bubbles, Shoes, Socks, Banana

 

Mine are pretty good with forks at this point, and still pretty sloppy with spoons. We give them utensils a lot though and just let them make a mess and learn. They do eat with their hands a lot too.

As for vocab, that is crazy! My pedi was looking for 20 words at 18 months, which I'm not sure we had. Since then, they've exploded in their vocabulary. I still don't think they have 90 spoken words though. They repeat a lot more than they used to.

 

Mine just started getting better with using utensils. We got the [take and toss ones] and give them a spork to use during their meals. We encourage them to use it, but sometimes they just prefer using their fingers

Still, we include the utensils with their meals whether they want to use them or not. It gives them the opportunity to figure out 'what the heck they are' and what they do and in their own time they will learn to use them. ^_^

 

Like the pp, we give them utensils at every meal, but they don't often use them. James likes to scoop things onto the spoon with his fingers and then puts it in his mouth. Jack will stick the spoon or fork into the food and then take the food off of it with his other hand to eat. We try not to push and I figure that eventually they'll figure it out.

With the language stuff I would be SHOCKED if my boys can say 90 words in just a couple more months. At their well baby visit on Friday our pedi was VERY impressed with their language both receptive and spoken and said they are well ahead of where most kids are at 15 months.

They will both say mama, dad, grandma, grandpa, ball, bye, no, woof, pudge (our cats name), elmo and each others names....all with their own mispronunciations etc. James also says bear, book and up. Jack has much more language than James and also says bed, uh-oh, yup, hi, yum, meow, head, nose, shoe, me, go and door. When I started to write them down I realized there were a lot of things they can say and I know I have missed some.

 

ETA: I think the whole 90 word thing means words comprehended, not simply speaking. Mine don't know how to say really anything but dada, mama and dog; with the only word being used in the correct context being 'dog', lmao. However, they do know about 10 sign language words and understand when I speak to them - mostly.

 

At 15 months, spoons are still mostly for throwing and making a mess. If I fill the spoon and guide it into the mouth, about half the time, it'll make it there, at least partially. But they're no where near actually using them on their own.

As for their vocabulary at 18 months, God no! About 10 words is all we expect. (I do EI evaluations, so I'm pretty certain about that). Here's an official site where you can check if your child's language skills are developing appropriately. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/speechandlanguage.asp

 

My guys eat mostly with their fingers, but we give them the take-and-toss forks to play with near the end of the meal and while we're spoon-feeding them yogurt. They can stab at food and occasionally get pieces to stay on the fork, but usually take the food back off with their fingers and put it in their mouths. Sometimes if we fork the food for them, they'll grab the fork and eat off of it, but utensils are mostly for play/practice right now.

As far as words, 90 has to be receptive language. Nate has a lot of words for his age, but there is no way he'll be saying 90 by 18 months. But I wouldn't be surprised if both of them comprehend over 50 words right now.

 

Oh thank gawd, I was afraid I was the only one who had almost two year olds that don't know yet how to properly use utencils.

I give them a spoon and they know that you scoop food on them, but they put it in their mouth upside down. When I try to correct it, they get frustrated so I let them figure it out. As long as they are getting food in their mouth then they can do it however they want.

Mostly they like to naw on the spoon (I give them the baby spoons with the rubber on the mouth part)

And they can say quite a few words and some paraphrases but mostly they still like to talk gibberish with eachother.

 

i read most of the other responses, and agree that 90 sounds like way too much. mine are saying 10-15 each, and our ot said they would not even qualify for speech therapy at this point cuz that's not too far under what is expected.

as for forks, one really tries and does ok. the other could care less. w/spoons it's even harder. i figure they won't be using them in high school so i try to let it be one less thing that i stress about!

gl,
jl

ps: my parenting class teacher said to just give them the untensils and let them figure it out. if they see you use them often enough--and they get enough practice, they'll get it!