13 month old - should he be feeding himself and drinking from a beaker by now?!

[Cydonia]

Hi, just wanted to canvass opinion really.
DS drinks water fine from a sippy cup ( free flow Tommee Tippee ) and milk from the soft spouty non spill type or sometimes a bottle, but I'm not sure what to do next. Should I be starting to try him with a normal beaker yet? Or try milk in the free flow cup first?

I'm just worried about him spilling it everywhere and not getting enough milk actually drunk. Also, how do you transport it when out and about? I've had a look in the supermarket and seen the straw type cups, are they ok? I am aware I'm probably worrying too much about this!!

On the spoon front, I read somewhere that you should start to offer baby the spoon and encourage them to feed themselves about now. Is that realistic? DS will feed himself with his fingers, but if I give him a spoon he just puts the other end in his mouth and chews it, and flicks food everywhere! Should I persevere?!

Sorry for the probably stupid questions!

The cups sound fine but I would be offering a spoon by this age.

What you're doing is fine - start giving him a spoon just to hold, it's fine if he has no idea what to do with it, he'll figure it out eventually!

My DD is 13 months. At home we always use a doidy cup for her drinks and it took a week or so but she's really got the hand of drinking from a cup. I still hold it and tip it for her but she understands how to drink IYKMIM? If out I take her Tommee Tippee beaker thing (the cheap basic £1.50 one) just for transport ease more than anything especially if she doesn't finish the drink.

She goes through phases of liking to take the spoon and feed herself after I've loaded it for her. Other times she will have me feed her. The rest of the time it's hands in and stuff in her mouth

If it was me I wouldn't be worried at all. Though think I'll start giving her a spoon at all meal times now.

They spill loads, water only in the open cup, milk under close supervision only.

Food, have one spoon each or give them a little fork, easier to catch food with a fork by stabbing it then chase it round with a spoon.

Thanks, that helps a lot!

we started off giving dd sips out of our glass - water and sometimes tea. and then started giving her her own cup and holding it. now we just put it on her tray and say "both hands" and she picks it up and drinks from it. only an inch in the bottom though as she is a little gung ho! we only give milk in an open cup and only sitting in her highchair. there is no walking around with it and that's what Tommy tippees are for in my mind.

dd is 15 mo and only just doing it in the last month and has been practising a while so I don't think you are behind.

My 14 month old drinks water from a sippy cup or one of those cups with built in straws. She still drinks milk from her bottle but that's cause she only has it in the nursery at bedtime or early morning so she's a bit sleepy to cope with a cup.
She has a spoon at each meal time though spends most of her time trying to flick food in the air so I spoon feed her.

The nursery have said she's fine for her age and she does have a go at feeding herself, which they encourage, so I don't stress about it.