When do they use a spoon to scoop up food themselves?

[Octaviapink]

I'm asking because 11mo dd is very good at stuffing the loaded spoon in her mouth if I give it to her (we have a two-spoon system where I give her a loaded one and she gives me back the empty!) but I wondered when they're supposed to start scooping up food from the bowl themselves? If I put the bowl in front of her she just grabs handfuls of it and tries to stuff everything in at once, so I'm guessing she's a bit young for it yet, but should I just let her get on with it?

I'm struggling with the spoon thing too. My dd is 10 months. I give her a spoon and it usually ends up on the floor, which is where I leave it or I'll just be up and down, up and down.

When I do try with her she'll usually do the same thing as your dd, ie. just grabs handfuls. What I do is pull the bowl away and say "spoon" and point to the spoon, then show her what I want her to do.

Don't know yet whether it will work, but it's all I can think of for now.

I'd just let her eat however she wants to. At least she's enthusiastic! My dd2 is 18mo and is becoming quite proficient at loading the spoon and getting it to her mouth, but until quite recently she would load it and then turn it upside down on its way to her mouth, so actually I preferred her to eat with her fingers. More went in that way!

DD2 started getting keen at loading the spoon herself at 13 months and now won't let me feed her at all (nearly 15 months) .

My DS is 15mo and tries using his spoon/fork at every meal but gets more in with his hands! I'm just letting him get on with it and hoping he'll get the hang of it eventually.

DS1 is 20 months and struggles to actually get anything on to a spoon. He is good at pushing things around the bowl with said spoon, and will sometimes get a tiny amount on there, but mostly I am still loading the spoon or stabbing things with the fork for him (although he can very occasionally manage this too). Mostly he just loses patience and goes back to using his hands.

He also went through a phase of turning the spoon over and accidentally emptying it into his bib before it reached his mouth - he doesn't do that any more (bless him, I remember one day watching him tip a spoonful of baked beans into his bib, then pick them out and place them back on the spoon).

xx