Toddlers using forks/spoons

parsleyqueen

If your LO uses eating utensils, how old are they?  How long did it take them to learn how to properly use them?  My girls are just shy of 15 months and they are not using forks or spoons by themselves yet.  I read in a book yesterday, though, that by 15 months most toddlers should be using them.  When I give my girls a fork or a spoon with their meal, they play with it for a while, chew on the handle, and then throw it across the room.  Are they behind in this particular skill?

MrsBeckO

We've been giving DD utensils for several months now and I'd say within the last month or so she started properly using the fork. Spoons are still tricky for her though. I wouldn't say they are behind but I'd definitely start encouraging and demonstrating the proper use. They'll get the hang of it.

Cityplanner

We've been giving DD utensils since about a year. She got the concept quickly and loved them, but didn't really have the dexterity to make it work. For example, she pretty quickly got the idea of scooping with the spoon, but she couldn't keep the spoon level until it got to her mouth. She'd end up flipping it and dumping the contents. Now, she's pretty good with a spoon and sticky things like yogurt. I wouldn't trust her with something sloshy like soup. Fork, she gets the concept but has trouble loading it still.

katiej15

DS does a  great job with using untensils, he probably started around 12months or so. I noticed he does so much better with the metal spoons than he did with the baby plastic ones we started out with. I have a friend whose little girl is a month older than ds and she understand the concept but just doesn't have the fine motor skills yet to actually feed herself with them. All babies are different-I def. don't think it's something to worry about. DS will still shovel food into his mouth handfulls at a time!

luvdv8

My DD still isn't grasping it- literally. She understands the concept but gets frustrated so she just tosses them to the side. I put them out with meals so that she sees them but I'm not going to force her to use them. Sometimes she'll stab something with the fork and then pull it off with her hands and eat it- meh, not a battle I want to fight.

buboo

I give them to LO but he sometimes has trouble getting the food on to the utensil so he mostly uses his hands. When I asked the pedi he said 18mo for utensils so I am not too worried.

parsleyqueen

buboo:

I give them to LO but he sometimes has trouble getting the food on to the utensil so he mostly uses his hands. When I asked the pedi he said 18mo for utensils so I am not too worried.

This makes me feel better--DH and I had talked about it a while ago and we both thought that 18 months seemed like a good age to start encouraging utensil use a bit more.  Right now we offer them, but if the girls throw them, we just forget it.  It's the same thing with plates for us--if we give them something in a plate or a bowl, they just dump the contents.  

I'm glad to hear that my girls' behavior is normal.  I guess you can't always count on what you read in the baby books!!   

 

lemonJAM

LO is 17 months and uses a fork and spoon pretty well now.  She does need help spearing things with her fork sometimes.  I started giving them to her around 11 months just to get her used to them.  She was able to use the spoon pretty well quickly, but fine motor has always been her relative strength.  Just keep trying and I'm sure they'll get it soon!

emberlee3

DS started using a spoon around 13 months (got more on his shirt than in his mouth, of course).  We gave him a fork shortly thereafter.  He is actually really good with utensils (since about 14 months), but now that the novelty has worn off, he usually eats with his fingers.

 

anarivera

We introduce the spoon weeks ago and last week the fork. She's getting better, but still ends using her hands

lclark79

DD insists on using her own fork and spoon with every meal. Sometimes she uses them properly other times they wind up on the floor. Just keep giving them the opportunity to use them and they will get it. I don't think they are behind at all.

mustangbaby09

When I read your story I was wondering to myself if you had my OL.  He does the exact same thing with the fork and spoon. And when I use a plate or bowl he dumps it on the tray too. I just gave up on the plate for now.  Or if he actually gets something on the spoon, he takes it back off and then eats it with his hands.  Meal time is so stressful at my house for me.