Babys feeding them selfs

[Jghl1234]

My one year old knows if she puts her fork in the bowl food will come out and she will put the fork in her mouth and then put it back in the bowl. She just doesn't now how to scoop I have to do that for her...how did you teach your children to eat with a fork and at what age xx

[WorldsBiggestGrotbag]

It's just a gradual process I think. My 2.8 year old obviously feeds herself completely but not sure what age she mastered it. We didn't consciously teach her, just sat her at the table with us with food and cutlery.
My just one year old feeds herself as she is extremely stubborn and won't let anyone help. It's a mixture of hands and spoon/fork.

[Eminybob]

I don't think I taught DS, I just gave him a fork with every meal and he finally got it. He ate with his hands before that. still does sometimes He was about 18 months old I think when he started using a fork consistently.

[2nds]

It can take quite a long time to master I really wouldn't worry about her mastering it quite yet. Our two year old tries her best bless her but hasn't quite got it yet. Our 3.5 year old still drops stuff off her spoon from time to time. I'd say a year old is so early yet.

[Laquila]

We gave my son a fork or spoon with most meals from around 7/8 months onwards, I think, but we did Baby-Led Weaning so he just used his hands otherwise - we didn't feed him anything. He was reliably feeding himself things like yoghurt with a spoon by 12 months but I can't really remember about forks - I think probably a similar age but it's a bit hazy! Maybe he just used his hands for a bit longer, not sure. He only started using a knife to cut things at around 2.5, I think.

I think the most important thing is that they can see you/other family members using cutlery, and then they imitate that.

[Jghl1234]

Ahh thanks for the replies...makes me feel at ease xx

[KP86]

I have a 2.3yo and he can use a fork and spoon very well now, and probably mastered them both in the past six months. He mostly ate finger food before that so didn't get a lot of practice in. He still sometimes shovels his food with his hands but I'm not bothered by that.

The IKEA forks and spoons are great for practicing as the tines on the forks are sharp enough to actually stab the food (maybe not good for a 1yo, perhaps more from 18m).

It will come. No need to worry :)

[T0ddlerSlave]

DD was using a spoon fairly well from 12-18 months but has only really mastered a fork since she turned 2.

[ODog]

My 2.2yo is stil pretty rubbish with a fork and spoon. He can do it if he concentrates and will do a few mouthfuls with cutlery and after that will just go in with his hands. We don't push it.

[crayfish]

DS is just one and no way could he feed himself with a spoon! He eats lots of things with his hands but the spoon gets thrown on the floor or jabbed in my eye so I feed him yoghurt and stuff.

[jessplussomeonenew]

One thing that helped us was holding, and then showing DS how to hold, the bowl while pushing with the spoon/fork. Basically one of the reasons he was struggling with scooping was that the bowl kept moving away as he pushed. When he asked for help, keeping his hand on the spoon and putting my hand on top to give him a bit of a feel for the motion also seemed to help.