kids cutlery - when do you move away from plastic and do you use adult sized?

[Glassofwine]

lo's are 7, 4 & 3 - and I'm still using the ancient old baby cutlery, some is metal with faded thomas and the like on the handles ie. toddler stuff and some is the plastic ikea range. I'm starting to wonder especially about my poor 7 year old dd, have I been embarrassing her when friends come to tea? What should they be using, adult sized seems too big, but I just can't afford those lovely designer kids metal ones like in the Urchin catalogue £15 for one set of each.

[bundle]

I got a lovely set from woolies last christmas, nice chunky handles and quite heavy (made in sheffield )

[Marina]

Ds is 7 and has been using adult cutlery by request since he was 5.
Dd is three and wants to copy him.
I think it helps that our cutlery is not very big anyway IYSWIM.

[hulababy]

DD is 4yo and used child sized metal cutlery. Not used plastic for a long time as, IMO, it is rubbish and you can't stab anything with it.

I think adult size is too big and cumbersome for using every day. DD likes to have pretty character or picture ones.

[ghosty]

DS is nearly 7 and has been using adult sized cutlery probably since he was 5 ....

[ghosty]

DD is 2 and uses child sized metal cutlery ... agree with Hulababy - plastic stuff is rubbish.

[Furball]

DS is just 5 and prefers adult cutlery.

[bundle]

(we have some ikea metal ones too, slightly less heavy, they dishwash fine)

[foxinsocks]

this is where ikeeeeeeeeea comes into its own as bundle says, their children's (metal) cutlery is really nice and washes well

[Glassofwine]

my poor children - I feel so ashamed. Will look on the ikea website, my nearest one is a bit of a treck

[ComeOVeneer]

DD is almost 5 and uses the metal ikea ones. DS is almost 2 and uses the ikea plastic ones (have to say the cut and "stab" just fine).

[Blu]

I don't know whether this is slightly igger than the ubiquitous 'toddler' cutlery - it doesn't give a size, but if you Google 'children's cutlery and search uksites only, there is another site that gives details of 'essentail aids' children's cutlery, that is about £6 a set. DS, 5, is better with metal cutlery which is a bit smaller than adult, but bigger than the toddler sets.

The old 'desert' fork and knife sets in adult canteens would be good - they are smaller than full sized dinner cutlery.

[snowleopard]

DS is 16 months and always prefers to grab my proper fork and use it instead of his baby one. I let him (with supervision) - they just need to get used to it and they can handle big ones (though obviously DS not using a knife yet...). Apart from being contrary and always wanting what grown-ups have, I think DS actually finds the proper fork more efffective.

[crunchie]

My kids use the 'dessert' knives and forks from our normal set. They are 5 and 7

[bundle]

these look identical to the ones we got in Woolies, I'd really recommend them

[ComeOVeneer]

this is what ds uses (the knives are actually serated and do cut pretty well)

[Glassofwine]

bundle - I like the look of those ones, perhaps easier then a trip to ikea (my friend says there should be a branch of relate in each ikea shop)

[bundle]

they're made by Richardson of Sheffield ,in the So Eat range

[bundle]

tbh i'd only do the ikea ones if i was going there anyway...lol @ relate!

[nikkie]

DD1(6) uses adult stuff
dd2 (5) uses kids metalones but sometimes adult ones,
We have cheap ones from ASDA for them as they were quite light

[SSSandy]

Never used child cutlery only the adult stuff TBH

[Bozza]

There is a set in the Studio catalogue for about £3 which both my children have. However DS (5) has been using adult cutlery for a few months now. DD still uses this cutlery and also a set of cake forks and fruit spoons I inherited from my Grandmother. She is 2. We have not used the plastic handle cutlery for nearly a year now.

The cutlery is bottom right

[scotlou]

Mine (4 and 6) use adult cutlery. They have been using it probably since the age of around 2.5. I found that the children's stuff was absolutely useless as forks were too blunt so couldn't pierce food to hold it, and the knives were rubbish for cutting. They can handle the adult size with no problem.

[LIZS]

ds (8) and dd (5) have these . Switched by around the age of 4 from the plastic handled/metal top stuff.

[portonovo]

Since each child was about 3-4 I think. Helpfully, our cutlery set came in 2 sizes, with half the knives and forks 'normal' sized and the other half slightly smaller.

[auntymandy]

answer to first question..when all the plastic and kid sized is in dishwasher!!!