Self feeding with cutlery- how old?

[Mibby]

DD has just decided she wont let us feed/ help her at all. She covers her mouth, turns away, flat out refusal. She will eat on her own (sometimes) but is very slow and only consuming about 1/3 to 1/2 what she was before.
The reduced food intake is affecting her sleep too :(
She has most of her front teeth but no molars yet.
So how old were your DC's when they started with cutlery and how long does it take for them to get 'good' at it?

mine were using a fork to stab stuff and eat it by about a year
they would attempt to use a spoon but generally tip it off before it got to their mouths though lol

DS is 15 months old and tho he will still let us feed him, he'd much prefer to do it himself!! We've been giving him cutlery with his food for the last couple of days, when he's at the table with us. He makes an almighty mess but seems pleased with himself that he's trying!
Probably not much help to you but thought i'd comment anyway x

How old is your DD?

We did BLW with DD but she didn't bother with cutlery until she was 2!

spoon - from about a year
we used the 3-spoons-method: one spoon for each of dc's hands and one to feed in between.
fork/toddler knife around 2y.
but dc still prefers to eat with hands...

Shes 18 months. Happy (ish) to eat finger food, sandwiches etc by herself but wont eat hot food that way. Shes been holding a spoon and having a few spoonfuls while we feed her for a while but has suddenly decided she must do it all on her own. Im just concerned about the reduction in food intake, shes always eaten fairly well but the last few days hasnt eaten much at all while insisting on feeding herself.

An 18 month old should be feeding themselves I reckon - have you given her a fork? Also food that sticks well to a spoon (eg. mashed potato). You could always help by loading the spoon for her and leaving it on the plate.

DD was completely self feeding with fork and spoon by 12 months, wouldn't let us feed her at all so we had to let her get on with it!

It is slow going, but maybe give her cuttlery and try shoveling in spoonfuls as well? Will make her feel more independent.

Another BLWer here so DS self fed from the start - he mostly used his fingers (wasn't one for mushy food), but occasionally we'd preload spoons and forks for him to shovel with which seemed to work ok.

If your Dd is taking a while to adjust to cutlery, perhaps try more finger food for a while to keep up her calorie intake? Roast veggies, home made chips, baton carrots, broccoli sticks, fish fingers, pitta bread triangles and hummus dip, big pasta shapes etc.

Shes got a fork. She tackled pasta yesterday lunchtime quite well but mashed potato last night was a disaster, hardly ate anything. I dont mind slow/ mess if the end result is food going in but im finding it very frustrating when she just makes a mess and doesnt actually eat anything

The problem with her has always been if she doesnt eat much she doesnt sleep. So neither do I. So I get anxious when she doesnt eat much, knowing another rough night is coming. Currently she doesnt seem interested in finger food much, or milk either :(

Mibby, is it possible that this could be a bug/ start of a cold/ being between growth spurts or even just a phase where she is more interested in other things in life? I know with DS, there was a phase when he first got mobile where he wouldn't stop to eat all day. I used to have to cram food into him once he was actually in bed because that was the only time he would remember he was hungry (and so i could get some sleep!).

Are you sure it is the food intake affecting her sleep and not anything else? I thought that affected DS but then when he skipped a few meals here and there and still slept through I was left feeling rather surprised!

Perhaps you could try giving her things you know she will eat (as long as they're not all sugary) for a while and see if that helps her eat and sleep? Don't stress about the cutlery. Keep giving finger foods and allow her to play with the cutlery (and her food too even if it makes a mess). Although I would discourage any food throwing... Also wouldn't worry if she doesn't seem to eat much, as long as she is not losing much weight - speak to your HV if she is. As for fluid intake, could you try another kind of bottle/special sippy cup/straw? My DS loved a straw from about 12 months. He only really caught on with cutlery from about 18 months, fork came bit earlier than that, then spoon.

Think it is important not to make too much of a fuss - she will see your worry and that might make her more fussy.

Could be. I suppose teeth would explain the reluctance to put things in her mouth. Ill try some calpol before dinner and see if that helps. Thank you :)

Her liquid intake (water/ weak squash) is ok. Shes not long moved onto beakers with a straw

DD (22m) is just coming out of this phase and is now - finally - getting the hang of cutlery well. While she was still not eating as much I started tanking her up just before bedtime with a big bowl of very stodgy porridge (sticks to spoons, ribs, walls ) to make sure she had enough in her to get through the night.

ok Gin Ill try that tonight too :)

It's not like one day they can't use cutlery then the next day they can, it a progression. For the past 3 months or so i've been encouraging DS to get used to it by loading up a spoon/ fork for him and allowing him to shovel it into his mouth which he quickly got the hang of. But only on Sunday did he succeed in eating a whole bowl of porridge with very little help from me. He's 19 mo.

Ds2 was about 1. He was BLW'd and actually prefers cutlery, so much so he won't eat without it. He's now 19mo.

Depends what you eman by "use". when we stretd BLW at roughly 5 months LO useda spoon, though only really sucessfully with yogurt. Itroduced fork at 9 months and she's always done well with the fork since she first tried it, but it took her till about 10 montsh or so to get any good using a spoon - it seems it's much harder to scoop up cous-cous and rice etc effectively with a spoon than it is to stab larger peices of meat or other more solid foods with a fork. introduced knife aroudn 18 months and she has actaulyl managed to cut dried fruit and fresh fruit with it but since it's a kid;s knife it's completely blunt and with no serated edge, so it wont cut meat however good she gets at cutting!

My 20 month old chucks the cutlery on the floor and gets stuck in with his hands. Every. Time.

DS used to hold the fork in one hand while using the fingers of the other hand to actually pick up the food. Every food is a finger food - I have a film of him tucking into a roast this way at 18 months. Not much help, I can't remember when he actually used the cutlery.

Up until recently I would give dd the first few spoon/forkfulls myself then hand over to her an let her get the food in her mouth however she pleased mostly hands. She now refuses to let me feed her wanting to do it all by herself with cutlery she is eating a little less. However last night we had pasta bake and she just stuck her hands in I guess it must have been nice.... after she had stuffed a few bits of pasta into her mouth she went back to her fork. She is nearly 17 months

Mine is 22 months. CAN feed herself well with cutlery, does it at nursery apparently. But at home wants me to feed her and sucker that I am, I do. I think I need to leave her to it, don't I?