When did your kids start using cutlery?

[TheSmallestOneWasMadeline]

Just wondering if I should be starting to try and get DD using it. She is about to turn 1, can feed herself using a spoon if I load it for her.

Tia

DD is just turned one and uses a preloaded spoon or fork but also makes some effort to scoop or stab with varied success depending on what food it is! (And then eats with her hands probably 80% of the meal once she gets fed up of it 😂)

Anyway a trick I learnt is to stand behind the highchair and gently guide their arm to do a scooping motion into the food or stabbing if with the fork, so they learn how to do it. Don't do it if they resist or pull their arm away, but it seemed to work for us.

I'm also interested in this as I just let DD eat with her hands 😆, she can feed herself with a spoon if I preload it she just doesn't want to...

DS is 18 months and been using it since he turned 1. He’s a master with spoons, tried his best with a fork (struggles stabbing things sometimes) and we’ve yet to let him get his hands on a knife

My kids are 7 and 8 and still can't use cutlery correctly 🤷🏻‍♀️ and the eldest makes more mess eating now than they ever did in their toddler years.
Hopefully it'll happen one day when it doesn't resemble a chimps tea party at dinner time.

Try a small fork, my DD liked the fork more and found it actually easier.

We probably started consistently giving DD cutlery around 12 months. We didn’t do much to encourage her using it beyond giving it at every meal and showing her a few times how to use it.

She’s 2 now and pretty good with a fork and spoon when she wants to be. We haven’t given her a knife yet.

Thanks all, gonna get a little set and see how it goes.