Teaching 12mo how to use a spoon?

[bittenipples]

How do I go about doing this? He is getting frustrated and trying to do it himself, so I am holding it with him and trying to show him how to scoop but he keeps getting angry. He seems to have decided he wont eat anything that he hasnt put in his mouth himself with a spoon.

He used to eat loads of finger food but is no longer interested. I am still bf him and would like to start reducing this but he needs to eat more solids/cows milk before I do. Is he to young to start learning?

He is also teething and has a cold at the moment which may have something to do with it.

So, how does the transition to self feeding with a spoon happen? What is the best food to practice with?

He'll get there by watching others eat. Eat together and it will happen. It might get a bit messy.

Just relax, no need for strategies.

He can eat what you eat.

Will he let you load a spoon for him to put in his mouth? If so maybe try something thick like risotto that will stick to the spoon.

My DS struggled with a spoon but did much better with a fork - easier to get the food to stay on!

My little man fed himself with a spoon from 6 months but it was quite a struggle at times. At first we loaded the spoon and passed it to him, he started loading it himself from about 15 months. Now he eats totally independently (once it's cut up of course). He's nearly 2.

Whereas you may have been giving him food of a snice runny consistency, you need to thicken it up so it hangs to the spoon. We bought a LOT of fromage Frais until we found which was thickest.. Mashed potato is quite thick and often has a bit of cheese for extra stick.

You might also find you have to give him more than he will eat because quite a bit will end up on the floor/in his hair/in your hair. the list goes on. Get a good bib that covers everything (and the floor)

It also used to take us an hour to have a meal because he was so slow. No really I used to sit next to him at the table for 3 hours a day! Even now he's better, it's a LOT slower than feeding him (when I compare with friends) but if you hang in there, you'll be able to have a meal as a family and actually eat yours at the same time as him!

k

Childminder here and I would say that on average, toddlers start using a spoon with relative accuracy at around 14-15 months. As others have said, thick porridge, mash carrot/potato/sweet potato/thick mashed up red lentils/veg mxture is a good way to start, as yogurt is too thin and will end up everywhere!

All of mine were at least 18 months before they successfully used a spoon.

They could, however, eat with a fork (well, anything in chunks that could be stabbed) by around 12 months.

Oh thank you so much for the replies. I will give him some thick chunky sticky stuff on a baby fork and see how that goes. I suppose he probably is a little young for smooth hand eye coordination,but he is adamant he wants to do it himself.

Messy us? Noooooo!

Have you tried pre loading the spoon? Hand spoon to him to put in mouth himself with food already on. DS has done this successfully from 6 months...just have to be ready to catch the flying spoon when he's ready for more :) getting the food on the spoon will cone later.

Let him do it himself but at the last second pop your own loaded spoon into his mouth.
Yes this is feeding him which is banned, but I am old and can do these things.

FWIW the bf and solids thing is a chicken and egg situation. You want him to et more before you reduce bf but unless you reduce his bf then he won't eat more.