Spoons, forks, and plates, oh my!

Our boys are getting really good at self-feeding and they definitely prefer it now. We still spoon-feed them a lot of things though - oatmeal, yogurt, applesauce, the messy stuff. We sometimes give them a spoon to hold and play with during a meal when they try to grab the spoon from us when feeding them, but we haven't really served them anything that needs to be eaten with a spoon.. We tried plates once. It was obviously just going to be a toy so we just put the food right on the tray.

When did you start giving your babies a spoon to actually try to feed themselves with it? Did you give them something in a bowl or a plate? Or just give them the spoon to eat from the tray (like chicken or veggies)? When did you try messier foods like oatmeal or applesauce for self-feeding?

 

We started with forks instead of spoons. My guys had a really hard time getting anything to their mouths on spoons until they were over 2. With forks, we could help them spear the food, and let them guide it to their mouths. Gradually they got better and better about "forking" their own tidbits, and were very proficient by about 18 months. Of course they're now 3 and still prefer to eat with their fingers most of the time! :lol:

My guys were in highchairs until their 2nd birthday, so we just served them on the trays at first. When we moved them to booster seats we gave them plates at the table. By 2 they were less into throwing than they were when they were closer to 1, so I figured plates were safe. That being said, I did buy some Corelle unbreakable dishes for them.

 

We have been letting our boys play with spoons since they were around 12-13 months. But honestly, they still are very messy with them. So for things like yogurt, applesauce, etc., we still do the majority of the feeding for now, although we let them try and feed themselves at least some of it each time. They are decent with forks, but prefer to use their fingers most of the time instead.

As far as plates, let's just say we tried them about two weeks ago, and it was a no-go. They dumped their food all over the place, much more than with bowls, so for now we are back to bowls.

 

We introduced spoons first and for months the boys just played with them. They're getting better now, but balancing them with food is a slow skill. I agree with a pp that we prefer forks. We bought some by Dr. Sears a few months back and they're pretty good with them because they can spear the food. I give them one or the other or both at every meal, but I'd say they still hand-feed the majority of their food. They also like to use "big" spoons (teaspoons) that we use which I do let them do since they won't be using baby utensils forever.
We tried bowls several months back, but it lasted only a few days because they figured out how to pull the suction bottoms off of their trays and we ended up with an even bigger mess than we normally have. Since we still use high chairs, we only use use their trays for food right now. As far as yogurt, applesauce, and foods of that nature, I don't see them spoon-feeding themselves any time real soon. I think we'll master solids on a spoon first and then move on to more "liquidy" things.

 

We introduced at spoons and forks at 12-13 months. Like Valerie, my kids got a handle on forks faster then they did spoons. My kids did not like oatmeal, so applesauce was a good start as was cereal.
My two got better with plates once I moved them out of high chairs and onto booster seats at the table. I also had a rule that if they threw the plate mealtime was over.
Oh another good spoon food is mashed potatoes!

 

I'm a huge fan of trayless highchairs! The sooner you get those kids at the table with the family, the sooner they start to eat like the rest of the family.

I always did what you said you sometimes do--give them one spoon to hold, while you feed them with another spoon. By one all three of my kids were self feeding about 50% of the meal that way. I contined to spoon in additional bites until I felt that was no longer necessary.

You can use baby ceral to thicken up something like yogurt or a puree. make it pasty to it sticks to the spoon for practice.

Also, since we use(d) trayless high chair(s) I always put their food in a plate or bowl. Since day one. And I always sat down next to them at the table when they are eating or ate with them. I found that when a bowl got dumped that met they were more interested in playing than eating and ended the meal for them. Just an okay, your done. It's all gone. No if ands or buts. Kids will eat when they are hungry and play when they are not. Follow their cues.

 

This makes so much sense.

We've been a little wimpy about introducing anything messy (especially utensils) but have recently allowed them to keep their forks and spoons while we eat. I'm amazed with how quickly that seems to have clicked for them and I sort of feel guilty for doubting that they could do it. They'll pierce the food with the fork, carry it all the way to their mouth, and then remove it from the fork to stick it in their mouth by hand. Pretty good progress considering how long we waited to let them try.

We do eat every meal together, though. We want to establish family dinner time as early as possible, so they really are very well behaved during dinner. We'll see what happens when we introduce plates and bowls!

 

Thanks for the great suggestions. We are going to give forks a try first and see how it goes.