Use of Silverware

I think that unfortunately the mess comes with using utensils. But kids enjoy learning anyway. I started giving my kids plastic spoons at about 1 and forks at 2. Just only put a small amount of food on their plate at a time and then it isn't so bad. My son is 2 1/2 now and uses a regular spoon and fork with out much mess at all. If you keep offering the utensils, after awhile they just get it. I still have to remind my 4 year old to use them, but my 6 year and 8 year olds have no problem, so I know it sinks in.

oh i have a great suggestion! my cousin just gave it to me, because i'm having the same problem with my 17 month old girl. she told me to buy a tub of sugar free cool whip. scoop some in one on her suction cup 'stick to the hichair' type of bowls and add her favorite color food coloring to it. maybe even sprinkles if it makes her happy. and then let her try it. the cool whip sticks soooo good to the spoon/fork and she is able to figure it out before it falls off. (unlike yogurt or other foods). we are just starting it this week. nothing miraculous as of yet, but i'm seeing a bit of progress. :) good luck!!

A.,

Oh thank you so much for asking this question I just thought “oh maybe my son is still too young to be eating with a spoon” LOL! I introduced the fork and spoon to our son when he was about 10.5 months old, I only did it because I figured like everything he loves to do what I am doing, If I'm using one he's bound to try it??, to my amazement he took to the fork in like a day or two with next to no mess =0)) (Now at the same time I feel he had amazing hand eye coordination very young), but the spoon…oOoooOOOh ugGGGgg….truth be told I don’t give the spoon a shot all that often, My son LOVES cherrios and I would love to put them in a bowl with a bit of milk and let him go at it but I am in general so tired of cleaning up a total mess, I just keep giving him fruit and pancakes for breakfast. I know I am just being Lazy…but I LOVE the Idea of the Cool whip! I am going to go buy some in the morning! Thanks again!!!

I think 20 months is a little young to expect that kind of fine motor skill. Frankly I would try the fork first, Manipulating a spoon to one's mouth is really hard. Give it a while. Take this year as it comes and then a month or two before her third birthday start telling her when she turns three she must always use her utensils. It worked with my son very well. (Except, of course, with grapes, etc.)

She's still mastering her coordination skills. The BEST you can do is offer her the spoons and fork. She will watch you eat with them and she will try it herself but she will still go back to using her fingers. Let her learn this on her own but with some guidance from you. The worst thing that will happen is a mess and that is easy to clean up.

Hi, A.. Well, developmentally, your little girl isn't going to have the fine motor skills to use a spoon the right way for quite some time yet. Don't worry about that yet. Finger foods are absolutely appropriate for a very long time, so let her have fun with that.

For stuff like yogurt, you're going to have to spoon-feed her. You can also get drinkable yogurt or kefir if she doesn't want to be spoon-fed anymore. On the cheaper side, you can make her smoothies with yogurt and fruit which she can drink from a cup or through a straw.

Peace,
Syl

Let her hold the spoon/fork as a shovel-with her hand over the stem while you guide it until she gets it to her mouth. Practice a few times, she'll get it! She'll turn it upside down a few times, just enjoy it. It might get messy as most learning goes but it's all in the great parenting experience.

she should be old enough to handle silverware. i would think that the fork would be the easiest, but it depends on your daughter. my daughter was self feeding with both fork and spoon by a little over a year old. my son can handle a fork alright, but is still getting the hang of the spoon and he's almost 2 1/2, so while she is old enought to do it she might not be coordinated enough yet. with both of mine i put the silverware on their plates.with the fork i would actually put pieces of the food on it and then set it down on their plates and the same with the spoon, my MIL would take the spoon in my nieces hand and guide it to her mouth so that she would be able to see how it was supposed to be held. my son still eats with his fingers most of the time. i don't feel like it is that big of an issue. he still you yet.

A.,

Hi there! As a mom to 3 boys it is a matter of trial and error. You are going to go through ups and downs with this just like every other thing she will learn, all of her other firsts. You can get the learning utensils at the store, they are for small hands and they are blunt. This way there is less of a chance she will harm herself. If you don't mind cleaning up the messes she will be making I say let her have at it until she gets the hang of it. That is what I did with my boys. They catch on rather quickly. They want to do what everyone else is doing so it really doesn't take long. You can buy the oversized plastic type bibs that clean up very easily from babies r us they are great, that is what I used with my 2 youngest boys. But what I suggest is don't stress out about it and give her the utensils and let her have at it, she will eventually catch on, it can't hurt.

Good luck.

S.
35 y/o SAHM of 3 boys
14, 6 and 3

Don't rush her. Toddler spoons and forks are ok for her to "pretend" with also, not just at mealtime. Don't rush yourself, either. She'll be all grown one day...

I agree with the poster who said to just keep offering toddler utensils at every meal and praise her when she tries to use them. I don't think my daughter got the hang of it until several months after she turned 2. I thought she'd go to kindergarten eating with her hands. LOL

What we did with our son was give him a utensile while he eats and he learned from watching mommy and daddy. Kids turn to learn by watching what others do. at 2yrs old he still has some problems with some food but he is learning.

Let her take her time and she will learn with time. Like the other moms said, don't rush it but let her try and eventually she will get it.

Practice makes perfect. Continue to have a utensil available for her to use with every meal, and it is okay to remind her to use it when you see her using her hands, but of course don't force it... "Use your fork, honey." my son is 23 months, and I have been providing him utensils since he was about 14 months, but he still eats with his hands 50% of the time. I just remind him to use his fork/spoon and he will for a few bites and then goes straight back to shoveling it in with his hand.