TIps for getting baby to use Fork and Spoon?

Abbie - posted on 09/01/2009

My son wanted the spoon and fork, so we just let him go at it............ITS A MESS! But well worth it. Now he feeds himself 98% of the time. I got him the suction cup bowls at wal mart - they help a ton! And we have a spoon that has holes in it, which helps get the milk and juice out of cereal and soup. He will figure it out when ready, I wouldn't worry too much yet. But be prepared for a mess! I would say learning self feeding is worse then the cake experience on their 1st birthday :)

Haylie - posted on 08/28/2009

What about getting him to lean down towards his bowl and try to scoop the food with the spoon into his mouth? I know it sounds funny, but it can become a bit of a game and it's easier for them to coordinate. I played this with my little girl and she seemed to find the food easily with her mouth too. Now she can scoop the food up with the spoon and feed herself properly- I guess it's just teaching them that scooping action :)



Have fun!

Irene - posted on 08/28/2009

He is probably not there developmentally as yet. I have boy/girl twins and I see the difference. My daughter has been ahead in the sense that she was able to pick out cereal(cheerios) using her thumb and index finger, where as my son would prefer to pick up in fistfuls. She has been eating better with a spoon compared to my soon. be prepared for it to be messy. what i do is sometimes I let themselves eat independently for lunch or I feed them for a bit then let them finish by themselves.



Just give him time and be prepared to do a lot of cleaning up.

Tayce - posted on 08/28/2009

I helped Lucas by making the motion of scooping food with his hand. (Sorta the same way you teach them to use sissors later.) It helped him learn the muscle movements that it takes to pick up food. One thing I have noticed is that when he is really hungry he will eat with his fingers, but after he eats for a bit he wants to eat with the spoon or fork. Most of the time now he will ask for a fork, and if one is not supplied will steal mine :) I hope that this is helpful.

Kylie - posted on 08/06/2009

The first food I gave my son to try on his own was yoghurt. I know it is quite a sloppy, messy food but easy to get on the spoon without any effort. I was just focusing on his co-ordination of getting the spoon from bowl to mouth first. Then I tried him with vegies- mashed potato and pumpkin. The vegies are not as messy but are a little harder to get on the spoon. My son is now eating his breaky cereal by himself (usually just a weet-bix). He is only just 16months of course being an April 08 baby. I just offered him a spoon during meal times while I fed him still so he could try for himself. He sometimes gets cranky at dinner time now if I go to feed him as he thinks he can do it all himself so I let him but still give him a spoonful at times depending on how well he is doing with getting anything on his spoon. Just keep offering him a spoon to use as well and with a lot of practise and mess he will get there. Good Luck, Kylie