How to get my 14month old to eat from a bowl

[Runningbutnotscared]

So we had a go at blw, putting small amounts of food in front of my dc straight onto the tray / table in front of him from six months, it worked quite well. Time has passed and I feel it's time for him to get to grips with cutlery etc.

Thing is he really enjoys throwing things on the floor. Nine times out of ten his sippy cup gets dropped when he's finished taking a drink, which we quietly pick up and give back to him when he looks thirsty again (if I put it on his tray he knocks it to the floor for fun). I've started saying 'let's keep your cup on the tray', but he's 14 months so I'm not sure he understands that.
He likes bowls (we have all the types that stick to trays), he likes to pick them up, put them upside down and then balance what remaining food he can find on them. He's my pfb so while I find this very cute surely at 14 months he should be able to eat out a bowl?
He's a strong wee chap and can wrench any type of 'sticky' bowl up.

So if your still reading well done! Is there anything I can do?

Hmmmmm nope! My 22 month old's behaviour at the dinner table is akin to a feral animal so perhaps I'm not the best person to respond

DS same age as Domestic Goddess', and exactly the same behaviour. He has recently shown interest in cutlery and can use a spoon and fork. He eats sitting on a mini lounge bumped up to the low coffee table.

Your DC's behaviour sounds perfectly normal (and pre-kids, I would have expected that by 18m they would be eating like regular people at the table, but reality set in!).

There will no doubt be others coming along shortly saying you can teach manners from this age, but it will come naturally in a few months. Not worth the stress IMO. Just let DC watch you eat (and eat together/model desired behaviour whenever possible) and it will happen when they are ready.

Mine had a little table and chair from about a year to sit at rather than a high chair he done great with it. My theory is the high chair is where he was allowed to throw his cup and eat from his tray suddenly not being allowed to do that makes no sense to him, so we got this little table he would sit in his little chair and I sat on the floor facing each other and we are together at it. It worked really well I could tell that he was watching me to see what to do and I think the fact I was right across talking to him kept him focused on the task at hand. I'm not saying he was eating a 3 course meal with the right cutlery but it took the fun away from throwing things when they fell a foot and he had to pick it up if he dropped it.

No tips, but my 15 month old shows only passing interest in cutlery and is unpredictable with bowls (she seems to get overwhelmed by having too much food in front of her and wants to get rid of it by throwing it away), and copes better with only a couple of things at a time. She also throws food around when she's tired, stressed, bored with a meal, or generally trying to get a reaction (she definitely understands 'don't throw your cup' or 'don't drop your food' and she will look at us defiantly while doing it). Ignoring it and pretending we didn't see (and then just ending the meal if it carries on) seems to be working slightly better, and the first time we tried it she was quite irritated that we didn't react and started pointing at the food and telling herself 'no', which confirmed to me that she knew it would get a reaction from us and was trying to get one. So your situation sounds very familiar - I had assumed that babies would be able to eat from a bowl in a vaguely civilised manner by this age, but apparently not...

Thanks for the replies......I know what you are saying makes sense....but when I go for lunch with my NCT buddies (it's always a bad idea to compare your baby to NCT babies isn't it!!!) they sit and eat from a bowl.
I think it's the blw that did it....perhaps if he had always had a bowl he wouldn't enjoy tipping it so much?

Seriously? he's happy and he's eating. plenty of time fir bowls etc.

I really wouldn't worry

My nct friends were all sending round pictures of their babies wolfing down banana with big smiles as soon as they started weaning, while my DD took weeks to establish that food was not horrific, and has always been a rubbish eater. I did intend to try blw but ended up needing to spoon feed as it was the only way she would try anything... but she still throws things around so I really don't think it's what you did. I totally get where you are coming from because you do compare when lots of other babies seem to be brilliant eaters, plus being in a cafe while your baby unpredictably flings food around is stressful.

You start by preloading the spoon or fork for him and leaving it in front of him to pick up himself.
He will absolutely understand what you're saying but "don't throw food on the floor" might not work as well as a positive consequence like ending the meal. For example, if he drops something deliberately say " oh ds, you're dropping food so it looks like you're finished! Do you want to get down?"