Spoon feeding 1 year old

[doireallyneedaname]

We started weaning at 6 months starting with purée, but quickly moved on to a mix of purée & baby led - he will now eat almost anything I give him and I usually let him feed himself with his hands. If I give him a spoon he’ll chew on it, and if I load it with food he’ll put it to his mouth and eat it - but he hasn’t made the connection between bowl, spoon & mouth yet.

When he has things like porridge I tend to spoon feed him still, is this ok? Should I be encouraging him to spoon feed himself - as in, showing him the action of loading the spoon etc? I thought 1 was too young but now I’m not sure.

He also doesn’t have a fork, is this something I should introduce now?

I guess I don’t know how long his hands are supposed to be acceptable for. At what age would it be normal for him to be able to use cutlery?

My Ds is nearly one and hasn’t made the connection. My nephew who has just turned two has only just learnt to use a spoon/fork In the last couple of months. I wouldn’t worry they will make the connection when they are ready. I give my DS a spoon when he’s eating but it tends to end up on the floor or like you said chewing it. We have indtroduced a fork on occasion but he tends to just stab anything but food with it Xx

I gave my baby yogurt in the little pots, so he had to use a spoon

My 11 month old can spoon fed himself, provided the consistency is right (he can do things like purées, porridge, mashed up whatever, but not so much things like rice that fall off the spoon). It took him a while to get to the point of really understanding the connection between food and spoon but I pretty much just let him crack on for at least part of every meal, and he figured it out.

If you have been feeding him it can take a while. Best thing to do is let him feed himself, put the spoon down next to his dish, and eat your own meal near him. He’ll play then eventually learn by watching you. DS learned how to use both spoons and forks this way by 11 mths. But you do need to be prepared for the mess lol.

A tip: he has always found metal spoons and forks easier to load. I use viners toddler cutlery.

I give my DS a spoon and he attempts it while I spoon feed him. With my DD I think it was around 15-16 months that the childminder gave me a bit of a nudge about it!

@Opticabbage

I gave my baby yogurt in the little pots, so he had to use a spoon

We did this and at first he dipped then licked. Well he’s still just dipping but he’s only 9m so assuming it’ll improve.

Oh god. Now I feel like I’ve made a bit of a mess of this

The oxo baby spoons and fork seem good. Chunky handles and curved metal actually spoon and fork.

Ds 10 months has just started being able to use the fork to stab easy things like broccoli/ waffles cut up/ certain pasta shapes.
The spoon is harder as he tries but often rotates it so yogurt slides off! For things like porridge and yogurt I tend to give him a spoon and I have one and we somehow between us get most of it in. ( and a pile on the floor for cat!)

@doireallyneedaname I would definitely offer him a spoon or fork with every meal for exposure. He will then gradually get used it and start using it. I started offering spoon before a year and a fork around a year (now 19m). She still often prefers her hands! But I still present it with every meal. She can use a spoon and fork quite well now depending on the food. With regards to porridge, I stopped loading the spoon for her around a year. She uses a combination of her hands and spoon. I found the key was to make it nice and thick (so she can pick it up in handfuls if necessary but also spoon it).

@Lampshade685 oh yeah, he always has the spoon with his meal - I just haven’t made a big fuss about using it yet

@doireallyneedaname maybe just have the spoon there and leave him to it and see what he does! He will probably go in with his hands but you never know and sure over time will start to use the spoon himself!