When did you give your kids bowls, plates etc?

my twins are 13.5months old and I have tried on a few occasions to big them bowls or plates with food on them and they usually end up turning them upside down, dropping them off the side of their highchair etc - they aren't using them "as intended", or even close to "as intended". When did you start giving them food in bowls and plates? Perhaps I should hold off a few more months...

I should also mention that I do have the bowls with the suction cup on the bottom of them, but they don't stick for very long and then it ends up being more of a game to the kids (trying to remove it from the tray).

 

I'm in the same boat as you Isis, we bought the bowls that stick to the tray and ours figured it out in 5 minutes how to get them off and continually would dump the bowls and play with the plates. I'm thinking they are not ready, so I am curious to see what other experienced Moms have to say.

 

I started at about 15mos (maybe a bit earlier) giving them a plate/bowl when we had something that I'd rather not have to clean a pile of off the tray and I could sit right with them. That way I was right there to keep the plate flat on the tray and remind them that we don't pick up the plate/bowl. If they continued to try to pick it up or managed to dump the food off it, I'd just take it and they'd eat off the tray. Over time they figured out that if they wanted to keep the plate/bowl, then they needed to leave it alone. I did it like I really couldn't have cared less if they had the plate or not so it wasn't a game for them.

 

I think you keep giving them to them, just keep reminding them that they stay on the tray. You can look on the internet and they have bowls, plates, and utensils that have suction cups attached to them, that may be helpful. It just took me constantly catching the plates and putting them back on the tray and saying, "no, they stay on the tray" They'll get it, it will just take a while.

 

Mine still don't get them, at nearly 21 months. We'll probably try again soon, though. I can't remember, but I don't think Nadia had plates until close to age 2, when she started sitting at the table in her Kinderzeat.

But, I'm the type of mom that would rather avoid the hassle, and just wait until the kids are good and ready, rather than create extra work for myself, LOL. I still spoon-feed a lot for the same reason, because there's little to nothing to clean up at the end of a meal...(they CAN and do finger-feed clean things, but I don't let them self-feed messy stuff yet).

 

I let them have the small take and toss bowls (like tupperware) when they eat pasta, but that's about it. Even then I have to watch for the toss. It got much better once the boys learned how to use forks consistently.

 

We started giving bowls, plates, spoons and forks at 18 months.

 

We started at about 15 months with small gerber bowls for finger foods and then worked our way up to plates. I gave them spoons and forks at 15 months as well.

 

We started around 14-15 months. Usually they eat from them when hungry, then starting turning them over as they get full and want to play. So that's when I take the bowls/plates away.

 

QUOTE(allboys @ Mar 9 2009, 08:11 AM) [snapback]1219856[/snapback]
We started around 14-15 months. Usually they eat from them when hungry, then starting turning them over as they get full and want to play. So that's when I take the bowls/plates away.


We just started giving them to them before 15 months and this is exactly what we are seeing. As long as they are hungry and still eating the bowls stay put (this wasn't always the case) when they are full or tired of that item they start fighting over the bowls, dumping them, feeding the dog, etc. Spoons are however a treasured commodity. They never let go of a spoon hungry or full and will fight hard for mine if I don't give them one to hold.

 

We started giving them plates maybe 4 months ago and started having them sit at the table at the same time. The transition together I think made it better. They just sit in boosters up to the table with no trays. They are pretty good now to use plates, forks, and real cups. It is so much nicer then high chairs and the mess they loved to make there. I started at about like 15 months.