13 month old refusing to be spoon fed anything wants to use hands

[fizzylemonade]

He was weaned at 6months and we did BLW all very successful. He will eat virtually anything I offer except he doesn't like to take food off a spoon/fork.

I have resorted to those squeeze pouch yoghurts that his 4 year old brother eats but it means I can't feed him things like rice or mash. If he has the spoon then only a very small amount goes in his mouth and he ends up hungry. I have tried to sneak food in on another spoon but that doesn't work.

Any suggestions??? It feels like a battle!

my dd managed to eat rice and mash with her hands at this age - made a bit of a mess, but not very long afterwards she started using the spoon herself

Leave off the foods he has to have with a spoon for a while - it will only be yet another phase and it's not worth making an issue over. I bet in a few weeks he is okay with a spoon as he will be more adept. Meanwhile he won't starve

let him use his hands then
my 2 year old still uses hands for most foods, including rice and mashed potatoes - jsut getting the hang of a spoon for cereal. It is v v messy, but it's easier that pleading with them to take the food off the spoon

teach him to eat indian style and pick stuff up in bread?
Mine didn't start using spoons until they were over 2, I personally think 13 mnths is rather early.

I agree with the others don't worry i'd let him use his hands and perhaps prepare food which is easy to eat like eg carrot sticks, apple slices, cheese cubes, sandwiches, meatballs etc. I think it's far more important to eat well than worry about cutlery at the moment. My ds 2.5 still favours hands over cutlery but if he's eating soup he'll use a spoon! He is the best eater out of all his friends!

dd is 18 months and uses a spoon and fork but only for effect and entertainment, iykwim? most of her actual eating is done with her hands. i don't have an issue with it at all, she doesn't drop things, doesn't make a mess and plenty of cultures don't use cutlery at all. the time will come when she'll want to do it all with the fork and spoon to be like mum and dad. re yoghurt, i find a very thick greek yoghurt works best for her to feed herself as it sticks to the spoon.

I would just let him use his hands. Carry on giving everything as before & let him explore with his hands if you can stand the mess or offer less messy things if you can't. Doesn't have to be a battle - just let him do what he wants...much less hassle & stress imo

Am having the same problem. I am just going with the flow. One tip tho - buy a big piece of plastic table covering (I got mine for a couple of £ off the market) and put it under the high chair, much easier than cleaning the floor all the time

As for mash and rice - try forming it into balls for lo to eat.

Give in to the mess and let him feed himself.