22 mth DS won't feed himself

[Emylou76]

My 22 mth DS seems to loose interest in feeding himself. He is fine when it comes to snacks but with a 'larger' meal he has a few mouthfuls then can't be encouraged to eat more Mummy spooning it in. Now I realise there are not many 18 yr olds still being feed by their mothers but I would like some ideas on how to tackle this porblem?

Not to care how much he eats. Eat your own food, read the paper, let him get on with it.
Do you really think he will starve himself to death? No doubt you are giving him plenty of finger food.

When mine were v young, first in highchair I used to put bowl of food and spoon on the tray, intending to feed it to them - then I would be sidetracked by my own food or interesting article in paper, and when I looked up, they had made a brave attempt at feeding themselves. V messy of course, but if you don't allow mess they will never learn.

Yes he went through the messy feeding himself phase but now has back tracked and seems to have got stuck. When should they be self sufficient anyway?

He does snack though the day and is fit and healthy so I am not worrying unduly about it but would love to eat my own food with out stopping to feed him his.

DS1 was still being fed at about 2 (I remember thinking he's going to have to learn before baby arrives) and this was mainly due to me having the time to feed him. He didn't eat regularly at nursery either. DS2 is now 21 months and has been feeding self for about 6 months. It is incredibly messy (getting better), and has I think to do with him being slightly more independent than his brother, being full time at nursery and not having mummy there all the time to do it for him. However, sometimes he hands me the spoon or needs encouragement. They all get there eventually, and they won't let themselves starve - agree with other posters, so let him get on with it!

ok will try tonight with his tea. fingers crossed.

DD self fed brilliantly and has regressed since no 2 arrived. She is 20 months.

She will eat things she really likes like soup and pasta though. It is deeply irritating, but also an interesting challenge when breastfeeding and feeding yourself....

Yes it is hard when you know that they are capable but it is easy to put too much on them isn't it. I can be quite rational and wise about it all until it comes to mealtimes then it all goes out the window.

Rempy I don't envy you trying to feed 3!