eating with forks/spoons/plates

So we are trying to use more utensils, they are good at holding them and putting in their mouth so I thought
I would try with plates (suction cup bowl)
This morning I put yougurt...what a mess that was!!!! their hands were all over the plate, forget the spoon!
Lunch I made chicken with rice so I fed them (ds hates to be in his chair and cries to get down only to keep on eating
as he walks around)----
Dinner- Steam brocoli veggies with chicken nuggets. I tried the bowl again with the fork
DD did great!! (she is the good eater, NEVER compalains and does the "yum" sounds at almost every bite!) she
used her hand but also the fork and tried to pick at things and put them in her mouth.
DS---- no crying this time but spent 1/2 the time taking the food out of the plate and into the tray, and ate
some with his hand.

So my question is, is it better to just put the food on the tray? do you always use plates/bowls?
do they not want to eat sometimes just because they don't like the high chair??? what do you do?

also, I whish the tray was lower, between the tray and the bowl I could hardly see their faces!

 

I did not start with bowls and plates until they were about 20 months old. Before that, they took great pleasure in dumping stuff from a bowl or a plate. I moved mine to the table around 19-20 months when DD started protesting having to use the tray (she does not mind it at breakfast or lunch but does at dinner)..that is also when we started using bowls and plates as well.

 

I think we officially moved ours full-time to boosters at the table around 18 months, and we started using utensils and plates more and more after that. We also still just put the food directly on the table sometimes. Now, they get plates most of the time and do great with them. They get forks depending on what they are eating. Both have gotten really pretty good with forks. DD is surprisingly good with a spoon considering that I barely ever practice with them. So, I would say look for this skill more in the second half of the second year. In the meantime, keep doing what you are doing and just letting them practice. That's how they learn it!

 

our girls have been at the table for a while now, but we just very recently started giving them plates/bowls & forks. i actually wasn't planning on giving them utensils until the new year, but they started whining & trying to grab mine & DH's forks at meal time so i started giving them their own & they did well with that. for the most part i let the girls eat at their own pace (Riley especially is a slow eater) but we do have a 30 minute max rule. after 30 minutes, i get her down - usually by then she's just playing anyway. sometimes this is fine, sometimes she throws a tantrum. :unknw: i also let them do whatever they want with the forks - sometimes they try & get food on themselves (and have managed to do it successfully a couple of times), sometimes they want me or DH to load the fork for them, in which case they'll sometimes eat the food directly from the fork but more often than not they take the food off with their hands & eat it, and sometimes they just bang the fork around really loudly.

as for not liking their chairs, we recently got the girls a small table & chairs set. they get to eat any non-messy snacks at their table which they really enjoy & then they don't seem to mind sitting at the big table in their boosters as much when they have to. i also find it helps a LOT to sit & eat my meals with them. they seem much more interested in staying in their boosters then.

i agree with Mom to Jack and Anna - keep giving the utensils to them. even if they don't use them "correctly" the only way they're going to learn is to use them & play with them. GL!

 

I had big divided trays that I would put their food on, but the trays kept getting tossed, and one broke. so now I have some suction bowls and some bowls with non skid on the bottom and just put all their food in the circular bowl. mostly its finger foods... but I just stared the last few weeks giving them their oatmeal/yogurt mixture in a bowl in front of them. I usually have to help load their spoons still but they are really good getting it to their mouths. my ds seems to be better at trying to load it himself - though some bowls are better for them loading food than others. mainly I always now after 17 mo. use a bowl.

high chairs, I have one restaurant high chair, pulled up to the table - I covered the table with a clear vinyl so at least the nice table isn't getting ruined. the other baby is in a regular wood high chair with a tray. I bought a booster seat, but haven't tried it out yet. I actually think I like having the free standing high chair so I can get to them to help feed them.