Not Using Spoon and Fork

My son will be 2 in another month and is still using his fingers to eat. I give him a fork every night and when he makes the attempt to use it my husband and I make a big deal out of it. Clapping and saying yeaahhhhhhh!!! Good job using your fork. He really likes the postive reinforcement. I've tried not to push to hard on the issue just because I don't want him to get frustrated and not attempt it at all. Eventually he'll get it and so will mine. My son is a tiny guy and eating has always been an issue for him so I try not to show any negative attention to it. As long as he eats thats all that matters to me at this point.
As for the food throwing, have you ever considered getting a dog. This helps me! LOL When ever he starts doing this I take it as he is done and tell him all done eating then take him out of his chair.

1 mom found this helpful

A. sometimes it takes them a bit longer i would just keep putting them out for him to use and adventually he will start to use them as for throwing the food on the floor when he started that i would just remove him from his highchair and put him down that would be hes done .....good luck

1 mom found this helpful

Hi A.
My son didnt use utensils until he was almost three. We thought he would eat finger food forever!!! But now he uses both without any difficulty. You know,..food does get to your mouth faster when you use your hands. :) I just kept exposing my son to them and eventually he caught on and was really excited about it!

Perhaps allowing your child to go to the local store and pick out his own utensil set (Zoo animals etc.) would build motivation. In reference to the food throwing; the behavior is unacceptable at this age of 2plus years. My daughter (who has a feeding disability) learned real quick to keep her mess on the table with just a few times of me demanding she help clean up her floor food mess. We remained consistent with this rule no matter how messy and no matter where we were- even at Red Lobster. I just pulled the trash can over to her seat and with a calm tone of voice said "Okay time to clean up the mess." She had to pick up all the large pieces and throw them away, while I picked up the small mess with a paper towel etc. If she did not comply, she went to time out for 2 minutes and then she still had to help before she could play with her toys again. This only took a few times and takes an occasional reminder but it worked for us. Good luck.

A.

This must be a very common problem. My 2 1/2 yr old son uses his hands still as well. I think that since it is such an effort to get the food on the utensil and then to keep it on there all the way to his mouth, that he just gets frustrated and continues to use his hands because it is quicker and more efficient for him. I give him a fork and/or spoon with all meals and sometimes I use several forks or spoons. When I do this I put the food on the utensils for him, so that he only has to practice getting it to his mouth instead of both getting the food on the utensil and then keeping it there all the way to his mouth (and by loading up several at a time, it gives me time to eat some before I have to reload his utensils). He will generally not eat with his hands when I do this and will occasionally practice putting the food on the utensil himself during those meals, which has lead to him wanting to do it more. When left to do it by himself, he still only uses a fork or spoon, maybe 30% of the time, but it is a start. Good Luck.

You know, I don't have an answer for your question, but when you find out let me know, because I have the same problem.
K.