Knives, Forks and Spoons versus Hands

[taramac]

I was just wondering if anybody elses kids ate virtually everything with their hands? My 2 ds's eat nearly all their meals with their hands including pasta, fish fingers etc except for the odd thing and didnt know if I should be concerned or not. My eldest ds is 6 and the youngest is 2. I am sure the youngest is only copying but my eldest has always done this despite being presented with forks etc. at mealtimes. I have also found that it has hindered him with being able to hold a pencil properly at school for writing.

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Maybe i'm weird but I'd be concerned if a 6 year old was using their hands, less bothered by a 2 year old.

I'm pretty strict about table manners though...

My 5 year old can just about use a spoon, but not knife or fork- he's dyspraxic. His diet is so limited he doesn't get much chance to practice though. My younger son (2) does try to use a knife and fork, although often he picks things up and puts them on the fork.

had a huuuggge row with the evil nursery once- shortly before we took ds1 out. He wasn't yet 2 and was told off and not given pudding for not using a knife and fork for chicken nuggets and chips. I'd bloody told them he couldn't use cutlery (didn't know at the time that he was autistic/dyspraxic) and they'd said it wasn't a problem. We got into a big argument about whether chicken nuggests and chips should be counted as finger food (for a not yet 2 year old) or proper dinner.

In your case I'd just ask them to use a knife and fork and see if they can- it may just never had occurred to them.

Jimjams dd does that as well. She will try very hard to get food off her plate and ontocutlery, but then gives up, picks it up and very seriously pushes it onto the times of her fork, then transfers into her mount. It's particularly funny to watch with peas and sweetcorn

My dd (4) uses a fork or spoon but can't use a knife yet.
She will also do the jimjams thing of studiously using her fingers to put food onto her fork and then into her mouth, usually dropping half on the way.

My dd1 (age 6) can use a knife and fork as can Dd2 (age 4), but if they think i'm not looking then they don't.

My DD is 25 months old and she attempts to sue a spoon and fork for meal times, although will resort to fingers given the chance. I haven't even thought of using a knive with her yet. I have found that child's metal cutlery is much easier for them to handel that the pastic sets or adults ones too.

I giveve cutlery alweays and parise its use even if they dont use it

dd who is 32 months still uses her fingers more often than not although she is perfectly capable of using a fork and spoon. ds is 6 and uses a fork and is gradually getting better at cutting with a knife although his motor skills are not fully developed. Perhaps invest in some child sized "proper" cutlery (those basic metal knives don't seem to cut very easily).

DD (5) usually uses a fork or spoon but isn't too good with a knife although she has a good try when she's in the mood. She often uses her finger to push things on. I cut her a fair bit of slack as she has "dyspaxic tendencies" and her finger joints are very mobile, so she does find holding cutlery & pencils etc that bit harder.

Ds1 used cutlery from very early on. He has always been fastidious (finger painting and mud pies would fill him with horror!) so getting food on himself wasn't an option. My others haven't been so fussy but they've certainly all used by about 3/4yo, even though the dd's are left-handed.

I have a primary teacher friend who worked in a school where she spent many school lunches showing 5yo's how to use cutlery. Many of them had never used it before, having been raised on MacDonalds and KFC.

ds1 still is reluctant to use a fork even fgs!
i nag him bout it and tell him he is a baby as ds2 uses forks

he cant see the point as a spoon is much quicker!!