Eating with a Spoon

Both of my kids couldn't really use flatware (special kid-sized and shaped) until they were about 2. It comes pretty naturally then, they want to copy you and they pick it up pretty fast, but I would say that at 15 mos or so, kids just don't have the motor skills yet.

L.,
Congratulations on your adoption! We came home with our 12 month old Guatemalan son June 2007...it was frustrating and scary trying to figure out what and how to feed him. We let him "play" with the spoon and he eventually figured it out. I found it helpful to give him one to play with while I used another to feed him. Then we graduated to swaping them out with food for him feed himself. Thick Oatmeal, mashed potatoes and refried beans work great...they stick to the spoon. Also, you can mix other stuff with the potatoes and beans to make it more interesting. I hope that helps! Good luck! :)

L.,

Congratulations to you!
In Ethiopia food is traditionaly eaten with hands and a flat bread.
Be patient with your daughter. Eat with her and keep handing her the spoon until she gets it, which will be soon.

Wishing you the best of everything.

With my daughter (19 months), I would strip her down to feed her (since it would usually get messy at this phase). Give her the spoon at first, she is hungriest and highly motivated to learn to use the spoon. After a while you can help so you can make sure she gets enough. It is a learning process and it takes a while. I found things like homemade soups and yogurt good foods because it is harder for her to use her hands with those foods. Just be patient and let her do it!! She will gain confidence in herself when she starts catching on. If it is a food my daughter really loves she will hand the spoon to me however - she wants that food in her mouth and she wants it NOW!!!!

Feeding herself when you hand her the spoon is a good start! She'll get it--it's a slow process. I found oatmeal and Cream of Wheat to be good learning foods--make them on the thicker side and they'll stick to the spoon. Just keep handing her the spoon and eventually she'll develop that "me do it!" attitude and want to do it herself.

Don't fret she will get it sooner than you think. This is part of growth and development you need to be patient and work on her fine motor skills for her age group. If need be look at other activities you can do to enhance her growth.

just like the others said, you have to keep trying but you also have to offer the spoon. Have it at every meal and help her use it and let her play with it. I gave my boys spoons to hold and play with from the first time i fed them "real" foods and they have gotten pretty good. My 19 month picks up his food with his hand and trys to put it on his spoon/fork and then tries to get it to his mouth :). I have even had him FIGHT me when I want to help him with soup (what a mess!) but it is worth it, my 3 1/2 year old feeds himself like a pro and has been doing it since about 2 years old. Good luck and get lots of pictures of the MESS!! ;)

Every child does it at their own pace and she's still young enough where I wouldn't be concerned. Just keep giving her the opportunity to try it herself and keep showing her what to do and eventually she'll catch on!

They get it when they get it, and she will be OK. About age two is a good start.

Try getting a toddler spoon, which has a handle that allows them to use a more natural grip.

Congratulation on your new addition!

keep trying but be patient.

my daughter is 27 months. and usually eats with a spoon.. but not always.

it is still frustrating for her sometimes so she goes back to using her hands..

Keep offering the spoon and fork.. but it will take a good long while.. I would say by 2 1/2 to 3 they should 99 % of the time use a utensil..

L.,

My grandson is almost one and I have recently given him one of the small rubber tipped baby spoons that we dont use any more, to hold onto and dip into the food (he never gets anything in the spoon part just on it, but thats ok) at the same time I'm feeding him with a real spoon

I let him get his spoon in his mouth, suck the bits of food he got on it off it and then when he goes to dip again, I stick a big spoonful of my own in his mouth. Oh, most times we use different bowls too, his is very small and plastic. It makes it easier to keep feeding him while he's working on getting his spoon to his bowl.

I always try to turn the spoon the way that makes it easiest for him to get it into his mouth, lots of times i gently direct it into his mouth when its close, and sometimes I even put food on it so he doesn't feel its a lost cause. When we're done (or when I'm done I should say) I leave his little bowl there and let him keep trying while I wash dishes or whatever.

I use babyfood fruit always for dessert cause its a great great way to get him to keep dipping his spoon. I leave some in the the little plastic containers for him and put it on his high chair after or while I'm feeding him the rest of it.

Good luck and please don't worry about it. Just hand her a spoon to play with and try at the same time you're feeding her and she'll catch on.

I hope I made sense because I felt a little rambly.

L.