when do you start using bowls/plates/forks/spoons etc..

I read a few posts on here about people with kids my age and younger using plates, spoons, bowls etc... Now my kids of course self feed finger foods but I still feed them outmeal, cereal with milk, soup etc.... If I PUT food on a fork for them they will put the fork in their hand and bring it to their mouth (DD always, DS sometimes if he's not being too lazy)....

Anyway.. just curious if there are signs that you wait for to know that they are ready or do you just buy some utensils and plates and bowls and give it to them and prepare for the mess???

Thanks, I'm TOTALLY clueless about this. Once I feel like I get used to something another task they need to accomplish comes along and I'm overwhelmed all over again LOL

 

ps I should have mentioned that my twins are 15 months old...

 

Thanks for this thread, I am also wondering this same thing! My girls are 14 1/2 months and it didn't even dawn on me that they should start to feed themselves until I read about it on here (duh!) I too feed them soup, yogurt, anything like that and they pick up the rest on their own. Its funny, one of my girls is a shoveler and mashes as much in her mouth as she can and the other is more dainty and uses her pointer and thumb to put one piece in at a time (very tiring with rice, LOL)
I am wondering how you get them to start? I just tried some yogurt for the first time last night and it was a total disaster with yogurt everywhere and them not really getting it. It slid down their hands, all over their face and then of course spread to their hair and so forth. Any tips on foods to start with or strategies to help them "get" it would be great!

 

:lol:

Great topic! My kids are 3.5 and we still struggle! I think I introduced those things around their first birthday but it is a constant ongoing struggle to get them to use them. Utensils are a big piece of fine motor skills and they won't just figure it out instantly. They need a lot of practice. I deal with the messes but not 100% of the time. There were many meals that I helped the kids with their food. We didn't try soup with a spoon until recently. I started by giving them foods that they could scoop a little more easily in the beginning. My DD is the messiest eater I've ever seen. She will use her fingers to eat if you aren't watching her.

A huge success for us was cereal with yogurt instead of milk. I would put cheerios in a bowl, pour yogurt w/fruit on top and stir it up. The kids love it and it taught them how to use a spoon. Most people that I've shared that secret with have had huge success!

Perhaps start using plates and bowls for everything. Then start using utensils combined with your feeding them. It doesn't have to be an "all or nothing" proposition. I remember doing one bite from mommy's spoon and then one bite from baby's spoon. We were amazed at how easily Amanda could get food in her hair, eyebrows, ears, ect without much effort!

This is the next fun stage of parenting!

 

We probably started right around a year. THey still make a HUGE mess but we just let the dog clean up after them and we have tile floors which help. Try using a shirt that is too big and use that on them instead of a bib - it tends to grab more of the mess! The trick is to not stress about the mess. Jack and Lily have been eating cereal and milk with a spoon for months and everyday they STILL insist on dumping it out of the bowl mid meal - oh well!

 

I think we started around a year as well. I'm not one to get upset about messes, it's just part of the game. DD can now successfully feed herself a bowl of applesause or yogurt without making a bit of a mess. DS is still a work in progress. There's only one way to learn....and I say just continue to give them utensils and plates at each meal, whether they use them or not, kind of like vegetables

 

We tried it around 13 months and it was just a big mess with food and bowls tossed all over the floor so I gave up and figured we'd try again later. I spoonfeed them yogurt but everything else is pretty much finger food, they have even mastered mashed potatoes with their fingers. We don't do oatmeal or soups though (they eat the meat/veggies and not the broth though). I was thinking of trying those suction cup bowls so they can't chuck em.

 

The yogurt and cereal tip is a good one! I will try that this weekend

I give my kids utensils with dinner but the other two meals I don't bother. Breakfast is usually waffles or bagels or something like that, with banana and a yogurt (that I feed them). Lunch is often grilled cheese or ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches cut into pieces with a veggie (peas, broccoli, green beans, zucchini are big hits) and then a fruit for "dessert". It never seems to make sense to use forks or spoons for that, but I guess I should offer it more often. They do try like crazy to use them at dinner time, but it sure is messy!

Oh, and they have been getting plastic plates and plastic bowls for a few months now and that goes well most days.

 

QUOTE(SMiLeD @ Jan 2 2009, 11:47 PM) [snapback]1130836[/snapback]
We tried it around 13 months and it was just a big mess with food and bowls tossed all over the floor so I gave up and figured we'd try again later. I spoonfeed them yogurt but everything else is pretty much finger food, they have even mastered mashed potatoes with their fingers. We don't do oatmeal or soups though (they eat the meat/veggies and not the broth though). I was thinking of trying those suction cup bowls so they can't chuck em.


LOL I have been using the suction bowls & my two little monkeys figured out how to unstick them! ( & of course dump or throw them!). We use a soon at times but right now just a lot of finger foods! Great question! Good luck & keep us posted.

 

My girls are 21 months and are finally becoming utensil masters! lol We started with thick things like infant cereal and applesauce and got them used to using a spoon first. Now they use forks, too. I found empty Gerber plastic food tubs are good for them because they are small and make it easy for them to 'catch' the food on the spoon or fork. If the bowl is too big, they end up chasing the food around it to get it on the utensil. Plates are still hard for them to use, but we put fruit, cheese, crackers, etc on those and let them pick that stuff up with their fingers.

 

QUOTE(*NJMom* @ Jan 4 2009, 10:53 PM) [snapback]1132790[/snapback]
My girls are 21 months and are finally becoming utensil masters! lol We started with thick things like infant cereal and applesauce and got them used to using a spoon first. Now they use forks, too. I found empty Gerber plastic food tubs are good for them because they are small and make it easy for them to 'catch' the food on the spoon or fork. If the bowl is too big, they end up chasing the food around it to get it on the utensil. Plates are still hard for them to use, but we put fruit, cheese, crackers, etc on those and let them pick that stuff up with their fingers.


I was at my sister's over the holiday for dinner and she had set the table with kiddie plates and utensils for the girls. It simply hadn't occured to me to give them silverware yet! So I let them try it and they got a surprising amount into their mouths...the mashed potatoes especially!

Now that we're back home I've decided to try lunch with bowls or plates and utensils. I let them have yogurt in a bowl with a spoon. It was a mess but I actually got the rest of the kitchen cleaned up while they were "eating." Once they get better at it, I'll do it for the other meals.

 

My boys are just starting to be able to use forks and spoons without too much mess. They are 22 months. I started offering them around 15 or 16 months, but I still "helped" with my own spoon/fork. For us, forks are much easier than spoons. It helps to thicken yogurt, etc. with baby cereal so they can actually get it on the spoon and keep it there.

Don't worry - there's no exact time when you should be doing this stuff. Just go by your kids.

 

we are just at the point where I can give them an open cup and walk away and fell mostly safe that it won't end up everywhere...we occasionally have a spill but mostly b/c they are playing. They also get forks and spoons and are pretty good with them. Noah is pretty independent and needs helps when he gets to the end to scrape up whatever is left but Aiden needs help spearing and scooping. I gave them forks and spoons a little after a year to really start but they had them before that to just hold while I fed them.