Should 1 year old be able to eat with a spoon by himself?

[rosiewalker]

Hi
I know all babies are different but am just wondering on the whole should a 1 year old be able to eat by himself with a spoon or fork?

My DS can eat very well with his hands and then depending on what we have if its a spag bol/curry I still feed him with a spoon. With the yoghurt he takes the spoon and does it himself. Should I be making him do it all by himself and just guiding the spoon to his mouth?
Thank you

I wouldn’t stress about it. I think it’s about that age they will start to be able to do it more successfully (although still with a lot of mess!!). I started by just leaving the spoon next to the bowl and she would choose whether to use it or not, I didn’t worry about guiding the spoon or anything (but then I’m not too worried about the mess- it’s probably different if you’re trying to protect carpets or something). Now she will do most of it herself but will give me the spoon to scrape the last morsels out of yoghurt pots and bowls!

It really depends. My son could eat with a spoon for all meals by 18 months. However, he lost interest in using cutlery between the age of 2- nearly 3. It was more important for him to eat than to force the issue. With a baby that young I think it’s important they are allowed to explore the food with their hands if that’s what they want to do. If they’re allowed to do so then new foods don’t seem to daunting to them. Just go with the flow and follow your baby’s lead. I’d sometimes spoon feed my son at age 1-1.5 as it was easier and there’s nothing wrong with that either.

At this age they can use a spoon if in the right mood! I really wouldn’t get too bothered about it ! Grandchild nearly 2 and mealtime is not my favourite pastime!

I wouldn't be giving them a fork!

There's no 'should' really. It depends how much opportunity they've had to use a spoon & what you call 'feeding themselves' and the level of mess you can tolerate!

At the end of the day, none of it really matters when they're 1. Do what suits YOU.

Plenty of DCs start primary not able to use cutlery, so with that comparison a 1 year old isn't an outlier. However I would think most can use a spoon by 12mo. My 2 DCs were certainly using one long before then, but they had been given their food and a spoon and left to get on with it from when they first started weaning. One was using a fork well too by then, the other took a couple of months longer.
Ultimately, to learn and improve DC needs the opportunity to practice, which they won't get if spoon fed or guided. If you are worried about them not eating enough, can you start the meal with DC given the cutlery and left to crack on (their choice if they use hands or cutlery), then you finish off spooning in any missed bits? I found eating at the same time helped, as you're concentrating on your own meal and not stressing over the mess/how much food is going in. Young DCs are also great mimics, so it is a good way to demonstrate how to use the cutlery.

My son is 21mo, we give him cutlery (fork and spoon) at every meal which he usually uses to start with and then moves onto his hands when he realises its quicker. We encourage utensil practice, but don't stress about it. We also have a trainer knife that he uses to cut things like bananas. The Doddl cutlery is great if you don't already have it, so much easier for little hands.

I definitely wouldn't still be spoon feeding a 1yo, though - other than rare occasions where you really don't want to deal with the mess.

Depends on the baby. Doddle cutlery seems to help.