Cutlery and BLW

[molejazz]

When did your DC start using spoon, fork etc? Our DS has never been into eating off spoons (he shoves the food off pre-loaded ones!) and if we give him cutlery to practice eating with he basically ends up playing, not eating. I've tried introducing it at the beginning of the meal (doesn't eat) and at the end (isn't hungry so doesn't eat).

I'm starting to wonder when he will get it. And if it matters? He's starting nursery next week though and I'm sure he's going to look like some messy barbarian compared to the other children.

[Woodlands]

My DS (12 months) has always liked eating off a loaded spoon (he will now carefully place food onto the spoon and then lift the spoon to his mouth - though unless the food is wet/sticky it tends to fall off!). What he has never been able to do is scoop food up using the spoon. He has just started nursery over the last 10 days and all the other children, mostly 16 months +, eat very happily using spoons - and already DS has started copying them and is really trying very hard now to get the scooping mechanism right.

Not sure when to try giving him a fork.

[Woodlands]

So my point is that your DS is sure to learn lots from watching the other kids at nursery.

[ruddynorah]

Ds started pinching his big sister's fork from about 18months old. Now at 20months he can just about stab food with it, though usually just likes waving it about so he looks like everyone else.

[gourd]

Our LO likes spoons and can now manage thick soups, risotto (sticky), porrige and long grain rice, but fine gauge cous cous is a nightmare! We are going to start trying meat on a fork soon, but I expect that at first she will simply remove anything placed on the prongs with her hands, in order to eat it!

[gourd]

Oh, forgot to say that I have showed our LO how to scoop yogurt onto the spoon from a dish, but so far she just kind of dumps the spoon into the dish and lets go of it, then waits for me to fill the spoon again.

[molejazz]

Ah well, that sounds alright then. Yes I'm sure he will learn lots at nursery - who knows, he may even master that walking thing!

[gourd]

It's just down to practice I think. It's a bit of a pain I know, 'cos it's messier than LO just using their hands and it takes time to load their cutlery so you don't get to enjoy your meal in peace, but it's also fun! We've started to let our LO use a spoon every night so she can learn to use it well. We tried a fork for the first time yesterday and actually it went quite well - she didn't try to remove the pasta off the prongs by hand, and she did try to eat using the fork! Unfortunately she couldn't work out how to get the pasta off the prongs once in her mouth, but at least she tried! We will try again tonight with stir fry pork and veg - the noodles may still have to be hand-held though!

[BertieBotts]

I used to spear things on a fork for DS and let him take it from there. Sometimes he did just take it straight off again, but other times he ate it :)

[AitchTwoOh]

mine were both using those plastic ikea forks by 14 mos or so, spoons were more tricky iirc, everything got turned upside down...