Dear Mommas, My son is 2 years old and eats well for his age. He uses a spoon nicely. At what age is it safe to introduce a FORK?? I have given him a plastic fork for children, but it seems ineffective in terms of picking up food :) Thus, a follow up question would be -- at what age is it safe to introduce a METAL FORK?
As an aside, I am in no rush. I just saw some other kids his age eating with a small metal fork and was wondering....
Thanks as usual.
Jilly
Dear All, Thanks for your advice. As an aside, a great thing about mamapedia is that it is usually a place where we mommas should be able to ask for advice without criticism -- implicit, indirect or otherwise -- unless the criticism is necessary for a safety or healthy or other crucial issue. we all do our best, and do not always know what other kids are doing or have done, even if we are around other kids as well. So I appreciate all heartfelt advice.
Jilly
My daughter has been eating with a small fork from the regular flatware since she started on solid food....around a year. She'd handled a fork for many months before that. I am, however, the anti-babyproofer so I saw no need for special utensils.
My 22 month old has been using the metal toddler forks by Gerber for almost a year. They are just a smaller fork with handles easier to hold for their hands. Some things are easier to get with that than a spoon. He now uses all utensils great and eats with almost no mess!
he's ready....I usually start before 18 months!
both my daughters were using forks by around 1 or 1 1/2.i just made sure they didnt leave the table with it
He is definitely ready to start. I think my son was about a year old when we started him with a fork. The sooner you start it, the sooner he will learn to use it! :)
You can get him toddler forks that are metal but they aren't easy to jab and pick up food either but probably better than plastic ones. My son uses the small salad fork from the regular silverware and does just fine. He's been using that since he was 3ish and toddler silverware before that.
S.
I say whenever you are ready to let him try. My DD has had access to a fork at meals since she was a year old. You can buy the small ones at Target. You can also buy some with rounded tongs but I found those ineffective in picking up food and they just frustrated my daughter. By 2 she was eating with a fork and spoon and also her fingers. Heck, at 3 I still have to remind her to use her fork. As long as you are sitting with him while he becomes acquainted with using the fork and understands what not to do with it, I say, give him a fork! :)
I started using chopsticks and silverware when I was 1yo. Ditto with my son. I started letting him use a butter knife around 2 and a sharp knife (for helping my in the kitchen), with hands on supervision, at 3. And just visual supervision at 5.
Just keep giving him the plastic fork untill he gets the hang of picking up food with it. It takes some practice but he will get the hang of it. My daughter caught on really quick, by age two she mastered eating with fork and spoon. I let her have a spoon as soon as she grabed for the one I was feeding her with at age 8 months. Round age 12 months I let her have a fork and she got the hang of that pretty fast. Also she had a little spoon fork and knife set for kids that was made from metal ( a gift from Grandma with her name engraved on it). They were just the right size and rather blunt lol. But she loved eating with it.
You can introduce it now if you want. They do make metal "children's" forks that are very short-pronged and semi-rounded so he can't injure himself.
I can't remember when my younger one started using a metal fork, but we gave him smaller ones (they also make children's flatware in stainless) and I think he was using it pretty well by 18 months. He usually prefers a fork if he can get one.
My kids starting using a fork at about 2.5 years. Grandkids too. Its good for their hand/eye coordination to stab things like peas... and also pretty fun to watch :) Just have him use a salad fork.
I've been giving my son a complete set of flatware (spoon, fork and knife) since he started eating solids.
What are you waiting for?
The Gerber forks are great, they have a large rubber handle for easy gripping, my daughter does very well with them. She's now 3, but I think I got them for her just before 2yrs and she picked it up right away. Although, a times, I still have to remind her not to play around with it, so she doesn't hurt herself. But, I think that may be just my own phobia! Definitely get it for him now, he'll feel like such a big boy! :-)
Never too soon....just use safety forks (rounded, short tines, or plastic ones for kids).
I started all of my children with a metal fork with rubber grip at 1. My middle daughter started with a fork around 11-months at her daycare center. There is no reason for him to NOT have a fork even if he doesn't use it. Just do not let him walk around with it.
Metal spoons and forks at age one. They make little versions but get a fork that can actually stab the food and not frustrate the child.
They have metal forks for children. I let my girls have a fork when they asked. I honestly don't think there is a certain age to introduce a metal fork to a child. If he wants one let him use it. Just make sure he is sitting down with it.
I don't know why he can't have one now. Most of the kids in my Child Care center had both a fork and a spoon by their plate from the age of 1 in the Toddler Room.
I guess it depends on the kid, but my 15 month old is quite skilled at using a fork. All 3 of my girls were using forks by 15 months actually.
