Question about teaching Lo to use utensils

butterflynola

Hi I haven't posted here in months, my little man keeps me busy. Hope you're all doing good!

Have any of you mastered teaching your Lo to use utensils yet? Every time N attempts to reach for a spoon I give it to him but then he gets so frustrated and throws it lol. We've done BLW since he was 6m so I don't know if that is making it harder? Thoughts?

Deez10

DS likes to help me hold the utensil - if I were to let go, he'd send the food flying everywhere. 

kagl08

For awhile I was giving my DS a spoon with every meal and letting him explore. Once he started trying to use that he graduated to a fork. Now he consistent uses a fork (not perfectly, or even the whole meal) for every meal.

I think our situation is different though, because DS has a big sister and watches her every move. He wants to be like her, so he watches her using her fork and wants to do the same.  

ellewoodsSC

Mastered???  Far from it.  But DD is very independent and she actually wants to try using the utensils.  I let her use a spoon with things like applesauce and oatmeal she ends up with it in her nose, entire face, hands and hair.  It's a learning process and it's a huge clean up effort.  I don't expect her to be proficient until sometime after 18m

CMonkey515

I give DS a spoon or fork with dinner each night. He attempts to use it, but doesn't end up getting much in his mouth that way. He ends up eating with one hand and holding the utensil in the other. He has the concept down, just needs a little more time to work on coordination. He'll get there with practice.

karinothing

DS can use a spoon, but I wouldn't say he has mastered it. He can feed himself yogurt well enough but I have to hold the container at the right angle so he can dip it in properly. Sometimes if I don't notice he just keeps scooping the spoon into thin air and attempting to eat nothing lol.

 He is also obsessed with forks and chopsticks. Although he isn't very good at stabbing things, and well obviously can't use chopsticks.

cantalopes24

kagl08:

For awhile I was giving my DS a spoon with every meal and letting him explore. Once he started trying to use that he graduated to a fork. Now he consistent uses a fork (not perfectly, or even the whole meal) for every meal.

I think our situation is different though, because DS has a big sister and watches her every move. He wants to be like her, so he watches her using her fork and wants to do the same.  

Yeah Lo is pretty good with utensils but E took much longer to get it. I actually fed him until he was like 3 partially because he is manorexic and wouldn't eat otherwise. 

ally510

I've been working on it with a little success. She's better with a fork than a spoon because most foods fall right off of the spoon. Mashed potatoes seem to work the best because they stick to the spoon better. 

butterflynola

CMonkey515:

I give DS a spoon or fork with dinner each night. He attempts to use it, but doesn't end up getting much in his mouth that way. He ends up eating with one hand and holding the utensil in the other. He has the concept down, just needs a little more time to work on coordination. He'll get there with practice.

That's a good idea, I think I'll try just giving him one at each meal and hopefully that will help him get more comfortable with it.

 

kagl08

cantalopes24:

kagl08:

For awhile I was giving my DS a spoon with every meal and letting him explore. Once he started trying to use that he graduated to a fork. Now he consistent uses a fork (not perfectly, or even the whole meal) for every meal.

I think our situation is different though, because DS has a big sister and watches her every move. He wants to be like her, so he watches her using her fork and wants to do the same.  

Yeah Lo is pretty good with utensils but E took much longer to get it. I actually fed him until he was like 3 partially because he is manorexic and wouldn't eat otherwise. 

My 1st wasn't using a fork or spoon at this point. I really am convinced DS is only doing it so well because he has my DD to watch.  

ETA: and LOL at manorexic. My DD can still be this way! 

lkm2006

He literally just figured the spoon and fork out around Christmas.

He just kept giving them to him at meals because he liked played with them and I guess he figured it out by copying us.

Now meal time is a lot slower though because he wants to feed himself everything.

mamaZbo

DD does a pretty good job with a fork. She stabs at the plate until she catches something and then puts it in her mouth. If we are in a hurry I help her stab things. She is ok with a spoon, but can't get the scooping motion so she stabs the yogurt or whatever and ends up with very little on the spoon. She eventually gets bored of trying and uses her hands. I give her a utensil at every meal so she can use it or not at this point.

blu-eyedwife

Have you been giving him a spoon since 6 months?  That's what we did and he can use the spoon fine when it's handed to him.  Still working on the scooping part.  He has the scooping down, but likes to turn it over on the way to his mouth, which he doesn't do for some reason when we hand it to him.

As for the fork, he LOVES that thing.  He's fantastic at stabbing and placing food in his mouth.

mrsgabus

Mastered no but if you don't give him a spoon or fork he will dump his food on the floor . He likes to stab with the fork and does well.
With a spoon he is like a one armed drunken monkey...it ends up every where but his mouth

LCass

blu-eyedwife:

Have you been giving him a spoon since 6 months?  That's what we did and he can use the spoon fine when it's handed to him.  Still working on the scooping part.  He has the scooping down, but likes to turn it over on the way to his mouth, which he doesn't do for some reason when we hand it to him.

As for the fork, he LOVES that thing.  He's fantastic at stabbing and placing food in his mouth.

This sounds a lot like us, especially the bolded.  We let Lily feed herself with a spoon from pretty early on.  It was a gigantic mess, but so is eating in general at that stage.  We actually got lazy about it a few months ago and started spoon-feeding her someof the time to keep her cleaner and make it go more quickly.  MIL kept up with it and started introducing the fork.  She still has a bit of trouble jabbing the food, but once it's jabbed she's great.  Just recently we've been giving her both a spoon and a fork, because sometimes she has better luck with one or the other.  She started using them together, pushing things onto the fork with the spoon or vice versa.  It was pretty impressive!

missyishere

N is a food thrower, although she's getting better, but she also uses her utensils as flying devices.  That being said, I still try to introduce them to her at least once a day, just so she understands their uses.  She knows how to use them, but she hasn't mastered them.  I do get tired of picking them up off the floor about 2 minutes into the meal, so I stopped trying every meal until she gets over this throwing period. She makes the "vroom" sounds to put the food in her mouth with a spoon sometimes like I used to do in order to get her to eat, which cracks me up every time.  Then she throws it...

thetheisens

I give ds a fork and spoon at every meal. He hasn't mastered them, but most times he does pretty well. He throws them sometimes, but I consider it to be practice right now. If he uses them correctly awesome, if not . ND.

BeesMomma00

Autumnmh1:

Hi I haven't posted here in months, my little man keeps me busy. Hope you're all doing good!

Have any of you mastered teaching your Lo to use utensils yet? Every time N attempts to reach for a spoon I give it to him but then he gets so frustrated and throws it lol. We've done BLW since he was 6m so I don't know if that is making it harder? Thoughts?

We made a game of it "Scoop and Eat"  She's not mastered it yet, but likes playing.  I say "scoop" and she sticks the spoon in the bowl.  I say "eat" and she puts it in her mouth.  Of course I'm super animated and excited about it. I held her hand to do it at first.  Now she can do it on her own.  Sometimes she gets food on the spoon, sometimes not.  But it's fun for her to try and she is proud of herself when we cheer when she has success.

I usually give her a spoon with every meal but whether she uses it or not is up to her. She still uses her hands a lot.

Junebug060609

D for sure hasn't mastered utensils.  Bless his heart he tries, but he for sure hasn't even come close to mastering it.  Sometimes he gets stuff on the spoon and gets it in his mouth...other times he tries to eat off the wrong end of the spoon.  Kiddie forks he likes to eat stuff I've speared for him from them, but hasn't figured out how to do it himself.  A work in progress, lol.

On another note, I just saw your updated siggy.  (((Hugs)))