Self-feeding with a spoon and fork

[Mary Jo]

Adam sees plates and bowls as things to lift straight up and pour/throw the contents from, which gets messy, obviously, especially with yogurt! I give him his cereal straight onto the table, and he eats with his hands; same with everything else really. Though I did give him some yogurt in a melamine bowl last night and showed him what to do with the spoon, and I did see him try, but yogurt ended up everywhere and not much, if any, in his mouth... more opportunities to practise needed.

Think I'll get some metal cutlery for him. Thanks for all the suggestions/experiences.

 

[Dragonfly]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50G_VADvQg
when William was 8 months old he done it and feeds himself now, i let him get on with it. He just picked it up and done it.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

We don't use suction bowls either, just normal ones, but we do have a plastic mat undeneath so it doesn't slide aruond so much. Ruby has been eating cereal out of a bowl with no fuss / mess since 13 months and other meals off a plate since 15 months I think?

 

[Faerie]

thanks everyone. think I will just get him some cutlery and see how he manages.

another question - those of you whose LO will eat from a plate/bowl, is it one that suctions to the table?

No harm in letting him try, he might just play with it for a while and then you'll be surprised one day when he just gets on with it.

I bought a bowl by Salmon Luke when Sofia was about 10 months old. It isn't suction but quite heavy, she can still pick it up if she wants to but it doesn't flip by accident etc. Never got on with suction ones (they wouldn't stick to our table!). I just bought one and clean it up after every meal.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/me-feed-me...f=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby&qid=1284037896&sr=8-2

 

[PeanutBean]

Byron has normal bowls. Initially small plastic ones from ikea we were given - we used these from the start of weaning though we held them then of course - and since Christmas larger melamine bowls and plates. We just offer him everything before he is ready so he can play and try and see how we use things too. He then just picks things up as bs develops and is ready.

 

[TTC LADY]

We got the tommee tippee magic mat (suction mat) which sticks to the high chair table and the bowl sits on top, however after a few washes the suction no longer works.

Waste of money really.

 

[cleckner04]

Emma has just recently been using spoons and forks properly. She's getting better and better at it by the day but I've been offering utensils for months now. And we just use regular plastic kids plates and bowls for her. She does pick up the plate and spill it occasionally but for the most part she keeps it on the table and loves being a 'big girl' eating like DH and I.

 

[krissie1234uk]

Dylan still uses his hands about 20% of the time, but he can confidently use a spoon to self feed and has done since about 13/14 months. We just use kids metal cutlery and plastic bowls and plates. He refused to sit in his high chair at 14 months and so sits at the table with the rest of us. He can also drink from a normal cup now.
We just let him get on with it, he has fed himself with his hands since being about 8 months so it was just a case of giving him cutlery and letting him try. Yes, it was a bit messy and he took a while to actually use it properly, but its all part of learning.
Good luck!

 

[leighbaby]

I have given my LO a fork since 12 months as he often tried to grab mine. He uses a fork 50% of the time now and eats with his hands the rest of the time! (he has a normal adult fork)

 

[leighbaby]

We got the tommee tippee magic mat (suction mat) which sticks to the high chair table and the bowl sits on top, however after a few washes the suction no longer works.

Waste of money really.

I've been using the suction mat since LO was 6months and starting to wean and I still use it every meal, works like a dream for us!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

My mum bought that Tommee Tippee mat thingy and it never stuck to her table!