At what age did you stop spoon feeding?

[grey12]

Be VERY honest please. I have been trying to get my kids to eat by themselves but they keep asking to be spoon fed! even my 5 yo. I always avoid it, but live with inlaws so there's someone around to do it.........

With my first, I stopped at around a year, but will still occasionally do it on request when she's feeling like she needs a bit of babying (she's 3). My second has always 'fed' himself because he refuses to let anyone else hold the spoon 🤷.

I fed my 11yo the last mouthful of dinner last night because she hadn't cleared her plate very well! I did think, "Ooh, it's a while since I've done this!" I didn't really take much notice, though - sometimes they were more independent, sometimes less so. Really no idea when they finally started using a knife properly with a fork, thought that would never happen!

They'll work it out in time. I made a conscious decision to focus on positive interactions at dinner, anything else I ignored. I realise this won't work for everyone. Otoh, I have great memories of DS turning dinners into artworks!

I never did..I did blw

I never really started but was definitely done before they were 2.

You know they need to practice holding cutlery etc and feeding themselves otherwise you wouldn’t have posted. Stop doing it and more inportantly stop your in laws

Christ honestly by six or nine months. I gave them a spoon from day one.

About 15 months when he learnt to spoon feed himself yogurt, I thought that was fairly late as we did finger foods otherwise so he didn't have much practice.

Ds is 17 months. I would say he was feeding 90% himself by 1 year. He now eats almost everything else runny like yogurt and porridge, and I help him a bit with Soup only.
Everything else he used fork/spoon or hands for

Oh grandparents do love it for some reason! that is tough! I dont suppose it will do any harm but it is incredibly annoying! they can clearly feed themselves!

I spoon feed my 5yo sometimes. Usually if he’s not made great progress on his own and after I’ve finished my portion I hop across and help him out. He’s left handed though and his fine motor skills have been slower to develop.

I never did, we did BLW.

Around about his first birthday. Do t get me wrong it was still "messy" but he got the general hang of it. To be honest though he never really let me do it, he refused to let anyone else hold the soon after about 7months 🙄

My son can use cutlery perfectly fine but at 4, he still likes being fed sometimes, especially if he’s a bit tired. I don’t mind. Don’t suppose he’ll need it forever and he manages to do it for himself fine at the childminders. I think sometimes it’s a comfort. I seeing Nadyia Hussain on something saying her children still enjoy being hand fed traditional dishes by her were they all sit around one big dish and I thought it sounded lovely! Like anything, children grow out of most things eventually.

With my oldest, almost four but they have a slight development delay. It took a hell of a lot of work! Youngest was independent with everything but thin soups by 2.

We did blw but occasionally I will feed my 5 year old a couple of forkfuls. Some times they want to be babied.

I work in a nursery in a room with 2-3 year olds. Most feed themselves with 5% that can't. When asking the parents it turns out that they still spoon fed them at home still. Some would have a tantrum if we just place their dinner in front of them and don't feed them. We wouldn't have time to sit and spoon feed 20 ish children with 5 staff. Imagine that? Parents sometimes don't realise what a hinderance they are being not letting their children grow up.
A 2 year old child should be able to feed themselves. Obviously additional learning needs are discounted in this

Though ironically as a baby he wouldn’t let me spoon feed him at all! My 7yo also gets the very occasional spoon feed depending on whether I think he’s messing around with his dinner or not.

@IamJuliaJohnson

I spoon feed my 5yo sometimes. Usually if he’s not made great progress on his own and after I’ve finished my portion I hop across and help him out. He’s left handed though and his fine motor skills have been slower to develop.

Isn’t this just because he’s not eating ‘efficiently’ enough for you…

Never did it, we did BLW and offered preloaded spoons

My three year old would go absolutely mental if I tried to spoon feed him! He was never all that keen on it even as a baby, though.

🤦🏻‍♀️ I did BLW as well, they know how to use a spoon and fork and knife.

However they always ASK for it...... At lunch, just me, I ignore them, they need to eat by themselves. At dinner, with DH and inlaws at home, they eventually get spoon fed half their meal....

@LittleBearPad no, it’s because he’s tired from school and struggles a bit with his fine motor skills. He gets to the point where the effort to eat is too much, or he just abandons his cutlery and goes in with his hands. I don’t rush him with his food or force him but once I’m done if he wants some help I’m happy to oblige.

My 10mo feeds himself.

DD is 2.5 and always feeds herself except she likes me to do the last spoonful and pretend it's a stream train

Mine hated spoon feeding from about 7 or 8 months. Just furious if you tried to feed them. Nightmare. I hate weaning.

@avocadotofu

I never did, we did BLW.

Same. Honestly, fuck spending ages trying to get them to eat stuff, here’s food eat it if you like.