To wonder whether to blame blw?

[Mapley]

Or even to look for anything to blame, because what I'm expecting is some mass perspective that this totally normal.

My ds was two earlier this year. I baby led weaned him, which to be honest was him rather than me as henever has needed any encouragement to get stuck into food enthusiastically. But as he's got older i'm getting fed up that he's not making the transition to cutlery. He can use a spoon or fork, but mostly won't. So he eats everything with his hands, smears it everywhere, disassembles sandwhiches, eats bread and butter by mashing the entire slice vertical into his face. Yoghurts eaten by hand from the pot. Strawberries nibbled then squished.

I look at his peers sitting daintily nibbling sandwhichs and using spoons to pick up single peas and then look sadly at my carpet and washing pile. I've tried ignoring it completely, I've tried putting himin his bed when he chucks stuff, I've tried making him help clean up, I tried makng it a game to use cutlery. Nothing works!

It's almost two years of food Armageddon 3 times a day. Thus does pass does it? Please?

Yes. It passes.

It might be, it might not be, its more likely to be your DS that's driving it than his "method" of weaning.

I did a mixture of both with mine and that means sometimes in the early days I'd shovel yogurt or some such into their gobs. I do think that gives them a bit of a desire to grab the spoon and have a go themselves when they otherwise might not but perhaps just watching you shovel food in your own gob is enough to give them that drive.

I'm sick of mess, though, sure mine who is the same ish age (my younger one anyway) makes a hell of a mess despite spoons and forks though it is getting slightly better now I think

Does it go on for much longer?

she says looking at the two foot splodge of yoghurt that got chucked at teatime that she can't bring herself to clean up

Well my ds has just turned 2 and sounds very similiar but I am not worrying about it!. I did blw(though had never actually heard of it!) simply because couldnt be arsed with that puree/mashing stuff again(2 older dcs).
Youngest is the best eater of the 3 but does still have a tendency to use his hands rather than spoon/fork. I am sure he will get the hang of it eventually. Really I wouldnt stress about it-you have got him to eat fruit. Mine wont touch it. This is my stressy point as my other dcs eat masses but again I figure that one day he will surprise me!.

He even rubbed fish pie in his hair the other day. I literally didn't know what to do, just sat there looking at him like he was an alien.

I did spoon feed him a bit, as much as he'd let me. Porridge and soup and the like. And he's been using a spoon since he was under a year. But hardly ever now.

my ds was 2 at the end of may and was BLWeaned. he can use a fork and spoon. sometimes chooses not to and makes a mess. we have daily yoghurt splodging though. i dont think it has anything to do with BLW though. i think it is just his age where it is fun to see the mess his food makes.

Yeah he'll eat absolutely everything, so atleast that's cool!

Majority of the time I ignore it , but tonight's teatime was a particularly messy one. Feel abit done in really.

Oh and btw, my mum and MIL are blaming blw. Hence the question I suppose!

My three are 7, 5 and 3. I did BLW with the younger two and they are far better eaters but yes, it did take them about 2yrs longer to get the hang of cuttlery or rather, to have any inclination to use it. My 5yr old always resisted using a knife and fork properly and it drove us mad. However, within 2wks of starting school last year she was using them appropriately every night. Ah the benefits of school dinners and peer pressure!

I didn't BLW dd2, just taught her to eat without it having a 'branding' name and she can create carnage at the table. Eating baked beans one by one with her fingers is lovely. Dipping cabbage into soup with her fingers is also nice. But she can eat with cutlery very well when she needs to, so it's just what they enjoy. And why not? She's nearly 5 btw.

can you tie his hands up with gaffer tape then feed him with a spoon and tell him its staying this way till he eats cleanly, if he doesnt relent i would probably wheel his high chair out into the garden now its god weather and take the Karcher to him . Sorry i dont have anyhting useful to say.

Well both my DS's were/are BLW'd through their choice, not mine! However, they don't get spag bol, fish pie etc. They get 'sauce-less' food - chicken/fish/meatballs/nuggets/goujons/sausages etc + potatoes (in any form!)/pasta/gnocci + veg.

My suggestion is to keep it dry!!!

For yoghurt, try the Yeo Valley squeezy tubes? Sainsbury's do a fromage frais pouch in their kids range.

DS1 uses cutlery around other children. Offer cutlery and make it available, they will eventually use it.

Hahahaha , thanks niceynicelass. That's hilarious. The never ending used of gaffa tape!

I find allowing the use of a big straw for yoghurt or slurpy food for fun, a nice (bribe) if a spoon is used is good way of tempting spoon use. Also you can buy kid chopsticks also good persuasive tool, as in try the fork for a bit then you can use this. Might work. Worth a go and mess mats also good, we used welding sheeting that my local garage had extra of and they gave it to me, so no cost worries. And peer pressure so meals out and about in places and make sure some might be a bit less kid friendly. I always thought it made mine better at the home table.

Maybe relaxing a little bit at mealtimes would help?

DD2 is just 2, I have no idea how much she eats with her hands or fork or spoon. I am too busy eating my own meal and having conversation with all 3 DC to pay much attention to how she eats. Sometimes she gets in a mess, if we have soup or gravy, but generally not. But as she wears a sleeved apon and is in a wooden wipe clean highchair it doesn't really matter.

I think a lot of it just depends on the child. My dds were both blw'd. Dd1 has always been incredibly messy and usually reverts to using her hands, dd2 is amazingly good with cutlery and can eat her entire meal using a fork even though she's only 12 months.

mine was still quite messy at just turned 2, now he is nearer to 3 he is alot better, will eat properly with cutlery etc i think it just takes time. keep offering him the cultery and encouraging him, he will get there in the end

What ballstoit said! My son can and does use a spoon and fork. But he prefers to use his fingers.

He's 2, BTW.

'Fingers were made before forks.'

I'm sure it does pass, OP, please don't fret. I doubt very much that there are many adults who smear fish pie into their hair or yogurt onto the walls. :o

I must confess though that it was largely owing to the mess that I spoon fed my DC.... from what you're saying it's just as well! :o

We did BLW with DD who is just 21 months. She use a spoon and fork now with no problems at all. In fact out of my 3 Dc she has probably master cutlery the earliest.

My dd of 9 was spoon fed but her default position is finger eating if she can get away with it. My ds of14 months refused to be spoon fed, so was blw by default,but screams if he does not have cutlery and can eat a fromage frais with a spoon and peas with a fork!!
Horses for courses!

2 of mine were BLW, both used cutlery from around 15/16 months-ish

so don't think it's necessarily the BLW that has caused it, sorry!

some children just prefer using their hands, but I am certain that if you keep giving him cutlery to use eventually he will. he's only little still :)

OP your DS sounds amazing with his tactile creativity :o

I blw-ed DS2 and he did a bit of this but it passed.

Might something like this help to make cutlery more attractive for him? A digger duvet cover solved all our sleep woes, so you never know!

spiderlight, that is the best thing i think my ds will ever have seen in his entire life. they are on their way to me!

thanks everyone, it's good to know that it is as usual a weird individual baby/toddler thing going and not something to worry about. Feel better for talking about it, was nearing my tether end earlier and now i have a whole new one! well abit anyway!