When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

She does MUCH better when she's eating something she can pick up with her fingers, has a fit when I try to spoon-feed her most of the time (she's always fought being spoon-fed, she's stubborn, but it's worse now that she can feed herself things).

I think she's too young to operate the spoon herself, right? She's 10.5 months.

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

I started them when they were real young and first started eating table food. Probably around 9-10 months. How else will they learn?

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

I let them have the fork/spoon early on, but she didnt' start feeding herself til she was around 18 months.
Even now at 24 months, she'll take her food, stick it on the fork then eat it

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

Thanks ladies. Ok, so if I let her try on her own now, do you give her the food on the spoon and help guide it into her mouth, or just hand her the fork and let her try?

Also, is she going to be eating enough this way? I know they'll "eat if they're hungry", but she's a SUPER stubborn one, so I feel like once I let her try to feed herself, I'll never have a shot again at feeding her myself, I can almost predict it will be a fight.

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

C_i sometimes give DS a spoon too, (he will sometimes grab for it when i am feeding him). I will just let him hold it and play with it while hes eating to get used to it

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

we just started with the spoon...hes a bit over 11 months. Its MESSY and time consuming,

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

DD would always fight the spoon too until I gave her one and I had one. I would give her a mouthful and then "help" her do it herself with her spoon. We started this relatively young. At 16/17 months she eats great with a spoon and actually prefers it (although there are still times I'll catch her with a fist full of oatmeal in her mouth)

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

I started at 9 - 10 months and he did not want anything to do with it. When he was over 1 years old I tried again and he still was not so good. As soon as he turned 15 months old, he started to use it pretty good. Now at 21 months he does real well with them.

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

My dd 8 mo can get the spoon to her mouth but that is it so I fill the spoon and let her have it. She is always a mess after dinner!

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

DD is now 20 months and still doesn't use them herself. If I put the food on the spoon/fork, she will put it in her mouth, but she doesn't understand how to get it on there herself

Actually...for dinner tonight, I put her dinner on the fork...she took the fork, took the food off and put it in her mouth with her fingers and just played with the fork

Message edited 5/13/2008 8:27:49 PM.

Re: When to try letting DD use spoon/fork?

DD plays with the spoon and fork. It seems sometimes like she's trying to pick up food with them, but I think she's just playing and not really meaning it. I do not expect her to feed herself with utensils for a long while!

Right now I'd just let her play with the spoon/fork and finger-feed herself at the same time.