I think it is time for my trio to start using utensils but how do you do it or is it something you can even teach them? I try to give them a spoon with a little of what I am feeding them but they just turn the spoon the wrong way and chew it. They are eating finger foods like champs so I thought the spoon thing would be a breeze. Boy was I wrong on that one!

Kim, Mom to
Logan Kenneth "I wish I were an only child"
Erin Louise "I love my brothers!"
Connor Andrew "I've gotta keep moving"
12/12/02 33w5d

Kim, Mom to
Logan Kenneth - Our future bull rider
Erin Louise -Our future ballerina/cowgirl
Connor Andrew - Our future artist

I would guess they aren't ready then. I tried with my guys at 15 months (13 corrected), and they got the point, but had trouble with the scooping (still do to an extent). I only give them a spoon/fork when I am able to go around the table and help them scoop the food up. Then they do the rest. They are really good at dipping the spoon, but they get frustrated quickly with that since it yields little food in their bellies.

It certainly won't hurt them to play with them though. We would give our guys spoons at the end of meals to play with so that dh and I would have another 5 min or so to enjoy our food.

Good luck!
Paula

Paula P-F

mine are 18 mo and still don't use utensils! my daughter kind of 'gets' it though and knows what she's supposed to do with it. i have found though that forks are easier. i help her poke the food and then she puts it right in her mouth. i think its just good practice coordinating so many movements. good luck!

Meg

Kim,

Our singleton is/was in daycare a couple days a week and one of the things I liked about it was that they always seemed to develop his skills at a pace that we would have never thought possible on our own. I still remember waiting for the big mess to happen as he ate his first birthday cake. Instead, one of his young cousins handed him a spoon and he neatly ate the frosting off the cake.

He's only two, but I've already forgotten how we went about teaching him certain things. But at the beginning I know there was a lot of holding the spoon with one hand and eating with the other, or a messy spoon end up in his ear or hair, as well as chewing on the handle. But he figured it out pretty quick.

I like Megs idea of using the fork. What Andrew couldn't spear with the fork, he'd pick up with his hand first, then put it on the fork.

Utensils weren't our problem. His gift to us was flying food. Good luck.

Mike H
Andrew, born 9/01
Ty, Ben, & Zach born 6/04 at 36w1d

OK, this gets farily messy, but they learn fast - PUDDING!! Or applesauce, anything that kind of *sticks* to the spoon. I would advise vanilla pudding - doesn't stain as much, but whatever they like best. Even if they get a little bit on the spoon they figure out how to "dip" it pretty quickly, and the true spoon movement isn't far after that. Good luck!

Tiff SAHM to
Mitchell (6 - pitcher on dad's baseball team)
Devin (2 1/2 - playing with the dandelions in the outfield)
Dustin (2 1/2 - shortstop cuz I'm tough!)
Dylan (2 1/2 - catcher, 'cause I have a big mouth, and I do EVERYTHING with Mitchell!)
Nanner (very fat 8yo g golden retriever)
Simba (3yo b rescued Heinz breed)
Wheezer (10 yo g spoiled cat - well, they are all spoiled )
Nicky the rat (b about 2 months)

Tiff (Masters student, part-time Environmental Educator, and mom to:)
M (12 - sports rox)
D (8 - water spirit)
D (8 - animal lover)
D (8 - video gamer)

Custard Style Yoplait yogurt works great too, and I feel better about feeding them that more than pudding (although they LOVE it when they get it! LOL).

Paula

Paula P-F

I would sit my trio on the dining room or kitchen floor and give them each a container full of dried beans/noodles and let them scoop with various kitchen utensils...they loved it, and they learned to use the tools as well. And then I always made sure it was when I had 45 minutes to sweep and mop afterwards

Deb
Son, 12
GGB, 10

I think my gang learned mostly by watching me eat with them. They love to copy everything I do. I started giving them forks around 10 mo. and by 13 mo. they were really eating proficiently. I used the baby forks instead of the spoons because it was easier for them to stab food vs. having to balance it. Good luck!

~Dionne
Mommy to Jessica, Alexa & William 02/20/02 31w6d

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~Dionne
Mommy to Jessica, Alexa & William 02/20/02 31w6d

I started with a plastic fork and taught them to stab things first-that was at about 17-18 months--now they have easily moved into spoons with minimal coaching and they can now scoop with a fork--they've even moved on to "real" forks (the small ones of course).

I started out with giving them the fork and showing them how to stab pieces of food--don't do it the whole meal just at the beginning, and don't tell them no when they use their hands instead, there's no use in stressing everyone out. Soon after I started they were trying to do it handing me the fork and wanting me to do it when they couldn't--they picked it up very quickly.

Good luck.