Does your toddler use 'baby' cutlery? or full size?

[lynniep]

I'm just wondering really. DS2 is nearly 3. We've always given him 'smaller' cutlery (if I can't find the stainless steel stuff, which is inevitable - I always lose the blinking forks - we use the ikea plastic stuff that is quite a big 'head' but a smaller chunky handle) I don't really like the plastic forks though as they don't 'spear' food easily which gives him trouble.

I feel a bit wierd giving him full sized stuff (which his 5 year old brother uses fine although he's still little in comparison to an adult) just because he's so small proportionately - his mouth is little - his hands are little, and a full size fork makes me think he's going to do himself an injury.

Am I being daft?

I don't, both mine have full size, I have a 2.10 yo and 13 mo. It's mostly because we tried those little toddler cutlery sets but the forks were useless as you couldn't actually stab the food with them to get it onto the fork! So then we used a plastic picnic cutlery set for a bit until DS demanded that he have the same cutlery as us at about 2.3ish and we did try to give it to dd but she has meltdowns if she has different cutlery to everyone else now It took us ages to work out what it was that was upsetting her! They both cope fine, tbh and it does make it easier with going out/away.

Like you I gave up on the plastic baby forks very early as they are so useless, ddtwins moved to the smallest grown-ups cutlery we had. Even though they're teenagers now, they still select this set for themselves! (Bless)

Agree it looks like they'll do themselves an injury, but actually neither ever even tried to impale themselves or her sister.

DS is 2 and uses angled cutlery - its stainless steel (so spears food properly!) with chunky plastic handles, think the set came from Boots.

When we give him a full size fork he has loads of trouble finding his mouth but he feeds himself fine with the smaller stuff.

When I was little I used an old-fashionned cake fork and butter knife. Mine was the remnants of Granny's silver service, but you can easily pick up a set at car boot/ antique fairs. They are just a smaller version of 'real' cutlery, and as the ones I had were engraved, I liked the fact they were pretty and 'special'.

Cake forks - good idea - I only really need the forks anyway :)

Mine aged 8 and 4 both have child sized cutlery.

child sized for all of mine, oldest is 4 and full size still looks quite big for him

I bought a cheap set of dessert forks and knives from Ikea. They're about 3/4 size and work brilliantly.

We have a set of Ikea dessert cutlery which we use for visiting children www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/series/14886/ - there are knives, forks and spoons, and they are the same as our other cutlery, just smaller. They also get used for desserts, or spreading butter, or whatever!

I bought a few id those sets from lidl. The cutlery is proper metal cutlery but just scaled down. Ds2 wont use the big ones as he's a tiny petite child and he finds them too awkward. My older two don't care although ds1 tends to eat a lot of foods with his fingers (coordination issues)

Ds1 (3.5) has this viners set and a similar sized one I found in tk maxx - they're a good compromise between 'toddler' cutlery and full size. The knives cut and the forks spear

Mine have junior cutlery - ie half sized - got it from a garden centre but have seen it for sale in letterbox. Nice spotty handles all the same so no fighting over who wants which.

Mine all had child sized but stainless steel - I think Studio used to do them, engraved with their name.

Mostly use little cake forks and teaspoons, though he does have a metal Ikea children's set too.

DS (2.1) uses full-size cutlery minus a knife. They are massive but as soon as he could reach the cutlery drawer himself, he refused the baby cutlery and chose his own adult ones. He seems reasonably proficient now even though it looks hilarious.

DS3 (4) uses this and has done for a couple of years. I bought the set for £1.99 including postage and was slightly dubious at the cheapness before it arrived. However, it has been superb and lasted really well.

Thanks for the suggestions - I can't get to ikea so will be getting something from ebay - either the set suggested by littlemissgreen or some desert forks :)

We use 'vital baby' for our 3.0 year old. Nice moulded handles and stainless steel for the important parts.

Can get them online from John Lewis, Ocado and probably Amazon.

We got given child sized sets with the dc's names on but they mostly vanished, goodness knows where! They just use the smaller ones we have or the dessert ones.

No they don't.
They have stopped using those when they were about 2~3yo tbh. After that, they have always used adults size, incl knifes.
I am confused as to how an 8yo can actually use child size cuttlery. These things do not cut at all a,d ny dcs would find them a real pain to use tbh.

DD is almost 3 and uses mini version of adult cutlery. They don't have the rounded stabby bits on the fork and the knife actually works. Have to be careful when scraping though because they sometimes end up in the bin!

Think I got mine fro dunelm.

I have the metal cutlery from Ikea which is just the smaller version of adult stuff. Tis easier for them to hold and control.

Plastic cutlery is useless.
I have tried eating a meal with it. It's impossible.

As pictish said, the small stainless steel set from ikea is perfect.

My dd is only beginning to use full size cutlery now. She is 5.5yrs