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.........

I never spoon fed. I handed her spoons of cereal or yoghurt to put in her own mouth till she could spoon it herself at about 12 months.

I did baby led weaning but at 2.5 we seem to have massively regressed and unless he is spoon fed lunch/dinner he wouldn’t eat at all really. It is very painful. Thankfully his dad is much better at convincing him to eat something!

DD wanted to feed herself from age 1 but DS1 still liked to be spoon fed at age 3. I didn't fight that battle and he always feeds himself now age 15

DS2 I can't remember - it's all a blur by that point! (I had mine close in age.)

I think some kids just can't be bothered with eating/feeding themselves. My youngest takes forever to eat and eventually seems to get bored and gives up halfway through a meal. I think he would happily be spoon-fed if I let him.

My jus turned four year old hates most foods. I leave her to feed herself until everyone else has finished (including the blw baby who loves solids and just cracks on) but then do try to shovel a few extra veggies in before I clear away.
Suffice to say I'm aware I shouldn't be doing it but she has multiple allergies and I worry constantly about her vitamin and mineral intake. She won't drink any form of milk . If spooning in some alpro means she hits her daily calcium target then I'm going to do it...

We have variable days. 16 mo DS can feed himself pretty well with a fork or his hands (hasn’t mastered a spoon yet) when he is in the mood. Other days he wants to be spoon fed and just sits there with his mouth open 🤷🏻‍♀️ Which is crazy because at 6 months if you got within a 2 metre radius of him with a spoon he started crying, only wanted to self feed.

I spoon fed my almost 4 year old until 3.5 on and off. A lot of meals he would eat in his own. I got fed up of it and he got less fussy. I actually think it helped that I spoon fed him different tastes. Now he likes a good range of food, but I do sometimes chivvy him a long a bit. I think I just got fed up and stopped, let him self regulate etc. Go cold turkey? You may be surprised.. I spoon fed him a couple of bits tonight btw, haven't done it in quite a while though. My 1 year old is totally different, he won't be spoonfed

Don't worry about it, several cultures spoon feed babies until around this age and they all manage to use cutlery fine as adults.

As long as they CAN eat by themselves it won't do them any harm. Nobody at nursery/school will be spoon feeding them though.

If you're fed up of it all you need to do is say no.

@Opalfeet

I spoon fed my almost 4 year old until 3.5 on and off. A lot of meals he would eat in his own. I got fed up of it and he got less fussy. I actually think it helped that I spoon fed him different tastes. Now he likes a good range of food, but I do sometimes chivvy him a long a bit. I think I just got fed up and stopped, let him self regulate etc. Go cold turkey? You may be surprised.. I spoon fed him a couple of bits tonight btw, haven't done it in quite a while though. My 1 year old is totally different, he won't be spoonfed

That is true! If one of them is being a little bit more fussy they accept the same food if it's fed to them

@BertieBotts

Don't worry about it, several cultures spoon feed babies until around this age and they all manage to use cutlery fine as adults.

As long as they CAN eat by themselves it won't do them any harm. Nobody at nursery/school will be spoon feeding them though.

If you're fed up of it all you need to do is say no.

You're right. It just annoys me a little bit.

DD1 was fantastic at meal time! At 2yo she sat/kneeled on a normal chair and ate very well by herself. Aaaannnndddd then we had to move in with the inlaws......

26 weeks and about 3 days. DS totally refused to be spoon fed, so we did BLW, my hv was horrified. 3 years later when dd warned I went straight to BLW, same HV was full of praise and support.

@grey12 I think I got fed up with it when we had two eaters and decided enough was enough. Took a bit of throwing away a few meals, but he soon got the message! If that's what you want to do, you need to have a word with the in laws!

To those who did BLW - how did your baby eat porridge?

My 2 year old manages fine with a spoon but asks me to do "choo choo" with the last bits he can't scrape out himself (usually yoghurt). He uses a fork in the same way as a spoon. Hasn't learnt to stab the food yet

@flowers6272

To those who did BLW - how did your baby eat porridge?

I used to put it on a spoon that I handed to him but in practice he ate it with his hands! We do make our porridge quite thick in our house but still, it wasn't pretty... But I wasn't doing BLW out of principle or design but because he absolutely refused to be spoonfed so there wasn't another option. His brother is weaning at the moment and I spoon-feed him things like porridge and yoghurt and it is less messy (though not as much less messy as I'd hoped/assumed!)

I didn't make porridge for my BLW baby, but he was born in October so was weaning during the spring and summer, so it probably didn't occur to me. He ate raisin wheats for breakfast mainly. By the time they're about 1, sticky foods like porridge and yoghurt are fairly easy for them to eat by dunking in a spoon.

We made porridge fingers for DD. They were a bit messy, but what isn't when you're weaning?!

Mine was weaned on purees, adding in finger foods along the way.
I can't remember when I stopped feeding her completely, but I'm fairly sure by about 2, and even then it was only because we were in a hurry/she was being a pain/I didn't fancy cleaning tomato soup off her.

@flowers6272

To those who did BLW - how did your baby eat porridge?

Porridge isn't something they advise as a starter food nowadays so the idea is that you start with vegetables and other proper food instead of the traditional baby food.

BLW children can also be fed but just not all the time. You can spoon feed them soup or porridge of course!! But those are exception meals instead of the norm

I'm so glad I have seen this post. I am still spoon feeding my 21 month old. She eats with her hands (fruit, toast, omelette etc.) buy just isn't getting the spoon concept. Any ideas as she is starting with a childminder soon (where there are other kids that are well a le to use a spoon). I know that in time it will come to her. Any positive e stories from anyone. I'm awful worried about it.

Ok, genuinely they were wanting to hold the spoon and feed themselves quite soon after 1 year old.

They are not particularly advanced in any other way.

Reading this thread for tips and OOF i feel this. 12 mo is perfectly capable of feeding himself. Loves food but HATES lifting the spoon. I do try and let him practice but he just sits there and shouts at me for not feeding him 🤦‍♀️ Definitely aiming to change over the next year

Tell DH and his family to stop babying them. It won't benefit them at all to be treated like that