Self feeding w/ spoon

vibarra27 · September 2016

How many LOs eat with a spoon on their own? I dont mean prefect spoon feeding but knows exactly how to use it.? What exactly did you do to get LO to eat with a spoon?

My boys will eat off a spoon if i feed them and will put a spoon in their mouth but they dont try to put food on their spoon to eat off of. I will give them a bowl with some food, they dump the food on their tray, throw the bowl on the ground. Bite on the spoon for a bit & be done with it. Theyve been eating table food on their own since 9 months. They still get messy when they eat(of course) & summer is almost over & i want them to learn to feed themselves with a spoon rather than grabbing ALL their food with their bare hands.

Even if i put bibs on them they manage to get food all over their clothes. In the middle of summer it was much easier because i would leave them in just a diaper. But now the days are getting a little cooler(not enough to have the heater on) & having them naked so their clothes wont get dirty is cruel. And putting 3-5 different putfits on them for each meal & snack is a no-no.

I know there will still be messes. But them not grabbing, mac n cheese, rice, beans spaghetti, egg etc with their hands will help so much. they tend to grab their head when eating, and they have curly hair and food in their hair is no fun. They grab eachothers shirts. If their food falls on their lap they reach down and get their pants dirty. Its just a pain. When i go to grab them they reach for my face or arms and get my face and clothes dirty.

Its just soooo messy. So any suggestions?

ElleMF728 · September 2016

DS2 is in the process of figuring it out. He knows which end goes in his mouth and tries to get food on it, sometimes he succeeds. I usually just give him a spoon or baby fork with every meal and let him play with it even if the food doesn't require it.

If we are having something very messy I just take his shirt off

vibarra27 · September 2016

The boys also know which end goes in there mouth but they dont try to get food on it. & i do the same give the the baby spoon or fork for every meal.

& its been too chilly to be shirtless, too warm still for the heater lol. I can't win!

missliz53 · September 2016

I think that we are still several months away from the hand eye coordination necessary to get food on the spoon. Right now DD is just starting to get the right end of the spoon in her mouth without any food on it. If there's food on the spoon then she throws the spoon or rubs it is her hair or on her feet. And it doesn't matter if it's one of her favorite foods or not, but eating has never been at the top of her agenda, so maybe it will be faster with toddlers that like to eat?

You could try helping them scoop the food on the spoon by either putting your hand over theirs or holding onto the end of the spoon while they hold farther down, but the desire has to be there.

ForeverEverAfter · September 2016

Sleeved bibs? Kushies and ikea make good ones. I even have a couple homemade ones that extend down and loop over the legs! LO isn't using a spoon well enough to actually eat. I preload it, and she gets a decent amount, then she dips it in, and whatever comes out only goes half in, and then it gets messy... We did BLW from the start, she feeds herself for all meals, and doesn't waste much. Im trying not to rush it, just keep offering the spoon, but I take it away if she's flinging food with it.

momofsweetps · September 2016

He tries but he's still messy. Applesauce and things like that (mashed potatoes), yogurt, works best for him. He screams if we don't give him a spoon/fork when we eat, he thinks he's big. So he'll use it for a bit and then throw it on he floor.

(In this pic he stole big brother's fork too)

vibarra27 · September 2016

@missliz53 i didnt think about the hand-eye coordination! Thanks! If i help them scoop it up they end up throwing it

theyd rather the soon empty unless im feeding them lol.

@ForeverEverAfter i didnt know there eere such things! Im going to have to go to Ikeas pretty soon! Awesome! Thanks!

@momofsweetps lol he looks so adorable concentrating on the fork with his tongue sticking out! My boys dont tey to get food with theirs. They just like to put them in their mouths, which is good that they know Thats where it goes. Maybe ill put yogurt on the spoon so they can taste and want more on the spoon.

Thank you to all you ladies!

kmcshane0211 · September 2016

Start with loading the food on the spoon and fork for them. Let them learn to eat off the utensil that way. Once they're good at that, hold the bowl up to their spoon, hold their hand and help them scoop it out. That's all you'll probably get for now.

I think its too soon to really expect that level of fine motor activity.

AmandaNacora · September 2016

We're in the process of learning to use a spoon. LO gets the idea but has a hard time actually getting the food onto the spoon and into her mouth haha. I started by getting those suction plates and bowls and spoons. I put her plate down and give her the spoon, and she plays with it for a minute, banging and all that. Then I show her how to use it by gently taking her hand scooping up food with the spoon and bringing it to her mouth. She thinks it's fun and gets super proud when she gets it right. The problem she has is she twists the spoon around before putting it in her mouth so most of the food falls off... They'll get it eventually, it just takes practice but by 18 months they should have it down

Just keep practicing.

wannabeamongoose · September 2016

Baby just started trying to feed himself with a spoon the other day. He had a total meltdown until I gave him the spoon. He likes to dip it into his cereal bowl and then put it in his mouth. He doesn't get anything on it, but he knows exactly what he was supposed to be doing. We've started giving him a spoon and fork with every meal so that he can try to figure it out. We don't help him with it, just sort of model with our own silverware since he started figuring it out by watching us in the first place.

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