19 month DS - should he be eating only with cutlery and not hands?

[knickertwister]

I've no idea about this stuff. he mixes stuff up; he will use a spoon and make an effort to load it, then eat off it; he will take a loaded spoon and eat, or he'll use his hands.

When should he just be eating with cutlery?

And how can we improve his technique? He finds it hard to shovel the stuff on, and when it is on, he has a habit of twisting the spoon away from him before it reaches his mouth, so it drops .... in frustration he uses his hands.

Much too early to worry - he's still a baby! :) He probably will find technique difficult at this point.

Can't remember when DS was confident with forks and spoons - probably 2.5 or closer to 3 even? He still can't use knives and he's closer to 4 now.

Mine are nearly two and you a mixture of hands and cutlery. Which they use depends on how easy what they are eating is to pick up with a spoon ./ fork. TBH so long as they are eating well and a variety of things I'm not worrying at the mo, they will get the hang of it in the end.

There is no should.

My 18mo is the same. Do you give him a fork to use too? cos sometimes I find my DD gets on better with that, although like your DD if she can't manage she'll just shovel it in with her hands

Thanks all.

Starmekitten - yes, we give a fork often. That can be easier for him. I think it's just a time issue - he likes his food and he hasn't mastered the cutlery, but he knows he can shovel it in with his hands, so that's what he does!

Tee2072 - there's probably friendlier ways of saying that there is no right time for it.

My 20 month old point blank refuses to use cutlery. He just flings it aside and gets stuck in with his hands. I'm sure he'll get there eventually!

I remember my DD putting food beautifully on her fork at this age - to only lift up the fork, pluck the food off it with her fingers and pop it in her mouth.. She is now 6 - eats pretty much everything offered to her and uses a knife and fork beautifully [opps, sorry, smug emoticon] As everyone else has said he will get there.

Messy it may be - as long as he is enjoying his food the rest will come later.

Aw, he's teeny! DS1 was eating (sometimes) with a spoon at about 18 months, but only for the novelty of it - now, at 4, he prefers to use his fingers for everything except yoghurt and ice cream. DS2 is 18 m and loves cutlery but prefers to stab people with forks, so I limit their use. Plenty of time.

my kids are 5 and nearly 3 and often eat with their fingers rather than cutlery - I have decided not to make a big deal about it apart from when its something where it really helps to have cutlery eg sloppy weetabix!
Having lived in countries where everyone eats with their fingers and finds cutlery odd (the logic being: why would you use something that has been put in lots of other people's mouths even if it has been washed?!) I think it is something I can live with.. although maybe everyone who knows me thinks I am just a very lazy mother!

When my child was youner she would always use her cutlery. As she is getting she seems to be eating more and more with her hands. No matter what i try nothing works.

All you can do is encourage but theres no saying that they will use cutlery.

don't worry my ds has just turned 2 and switches between cutlery and fingers. As long as you eat together and use your cutlery in front of him - he will pick it up. Never really trained our ds he just copied us i think, sometimes we help him if he asks cos he really wants to use his cutlery.

Have you tried a slightly deeper spoon? DD manages this better. I think it is a combination of practice and just what you child is like.

My DS has eczema on his fingers which is made worse by eating with fingers. Both the dermatologist and eczema nurse have said it's likely to continue until he uses cutlery consistently instead of fingers - usually not till at least age 4 or 5.

He's 2.5 now and can use cutlery, but mostly prefers to use fingers. We've never 'trained' him - he's just learnt by copying us. He can use a knife to spread sandwiches / cut things when helping me prepare food, but rarely chooses to use it when he's eating.

Spoons are much harder to use than forks - the scooping movement is quite difficult to get the hang of.

My 3 year old now prefers to use cutlery most of the time. 19 months deffo very young and at the point she just shovelled in handfuls. Just let them enjoy eating I reckon

DD is 3.2 and can use a fork or a spoon (beginning to use knife) but often will use fingers because she doesn't need to think about it!

DS is nearly 22 months and still heavily favours fingers over forks. He will use cutlery if I make him but if I'm eating at the same time (so can't police him easily) he will switch to fingers straight away.

I figure as long as he develops the ability to do it, whether he chooses to or not isn't likely to become a real problem til he goes to school.