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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

when should my 16mo start feeding herself??

9 replies

adee1974 · 31/05/2008 22:09

hi there,I'm getting mixed messages from other mums in baby group/work/etc, I just wanted to know when will my 16mo start feeding herself? how do I encourage her? she is still drinking from her baby bottles too, with cups she gets drenched, thinks its funny to use as a shower head .

any tips on how little miss can be miss independant at feeding times would be appreciated, or am I being worried over nothing? thanks

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tassisssss · 31/05/2008 22:11

just cover her up, give her a spoon and see how she does!

have you tried the 2 spoons thing - one for her to have a go with and one for you to spoon into her mouth with!

ds would have been spoon fed until he was about 4 if I'd let him get away with it; dd was feeding herself from about 15 months. there are pros and cons believe me and she will get there in the end!

suzi2 · 31/05/2008 22:15

Don't stress about it. We did BLW with DS as he wouldn't let a spoon near him. My HV told me he'd never learn to use a spoon. He still wouldn't let a spoon near him until 18 months or more. I think by the time he was 2 he could manage a fork pretty well. And not long after he was using a spoon with no problems at all. I don't think it's about practice - I think it's about dexterity and control and they'll learn anyway IYSWIM. I was always of the opinion that as long as he could use them by the time he started nursery at 3 he'd be fine.

DD is 15 months and she is now insisting on feeding herself fromage frais whilst wandering around the back garden. It's an unholy mess. I'm not sure I'd let her do it in the house! Don't encourage them is what I say lol.

ja9 · 31/05/2008 22:16

dd is 15 mths. we've been working with 2 spoons for a wee while. dd was getting very very cross at mealtimes and seems to have settled since we've been letting her get on with it. i hate the mess though - especially when she rubs fistfuls of food into her hair.

big plastic bib with sleeves. ideally a mat on the floor too under the high chair.

Original poster

adee1974 · 31/05/2008 22:18

thanks tassisssss, tried that and some food goes in (well in her hair!) but she also likes using her fingers! got every cup under the sun too but she thinks she is still a baby...embarrassing when you see babies younger than her drinking from cups

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Original poster

adee1974 · 31/05/2008 22:21

you guys have made me laugh, thanks for your advice. will go with the full cover option and mat on the floor. suppose the hair thing is like those goodness enriched shampoos, not convinced though...

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llareggub · 31/05/2008 22:58

DS is 19 months and we did a version of BLW. I left several spoons within his reach and eventually he started using them.

He is 19 months now and has dumped the spoons (literally) and refuses to use anything but a knife and fork. He looks so funny, as he even holds the knife and fork correctly! He doesn't actually use the knife, just holds it at the start and them abandons it. He will use the fork to eat, but with a very jabbing action. He uses his hands for anything too small to fork, although he sometimes manages to use the fork as a spoon.

He is not as messy as he used to be. We still use a bottle at night but during the day he generally uses a cup. If at the table, he uses a proper glass but if away from the table he has a plastic beaker.

I'm quite relaxed about mess, in fact I don't care too much about it.

MrsCarrot · 31/05/2008 23:01

my 16 month old usually has about three bits of cutlery in his hand. He likes to have two spoons, one to load, one to eat and then a fork to flick stuff off etc. He is estatic when he propels stuff across the table and thinks he is hilarious when he twangs the spoon in his mouth but mostly some food also gets eaten.

Elibean · 01/06/2008 14:19

Ditto tassissss - she'll get there! dd1 used fingers until 4, given the chance (though she could use spoon from early on, and fork from about 2.5 - but far too slowly for her liking) and dd2 refuses to be fed and always has, from the start.

Guess who made less mess

But dd1 is 4.5 now and doing fine.

NellyTheElephant · 01/06/2008 15:47

She'll get there if you let her. I found the best way to start was to have a couple of spoons, load one up and leave it on the side of the plate for her to pick up, then load the next one and swap. Just be prepared to accept the mess for a while - full cover up bibs and mats on the floor are a must. Re the drinking cups, just ditch the bottles, give her any of your many cups and she'll soon work it out, but you have to ignore all the pouring it everywhere, let her get drenched without comment as no doubt for her the best bit of pouring it everywhere is the reaction she gets from you!! She'll soon tire of it! Bit annoying while you're going through it though. I think I fed DD1 until she was about 18 months, however DD2 (now 16 months) has been feeding herself with a spoon and fork for months now, I simply didn't have the time or energy to be spooning food this time around and so she soon got the hang of it. SHe does use her fingers too though, but then so does DD1 occasionally and she's three and a half (and gets told off!).

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