My son is almost a year old. And my question is when do you start showing your little one to start using utensials and how do you do it? I know this maybe a wierd question but this is my first child and I have no clue... Thanks for the help!
Frankly, we started with a fork... a stabbing action is very easy, and the food stays on easily. It doesn't usually work very well with the plastic forks, though.
Gavin was eating very well with a fork in a short time! And... in case anyone wonders, he didn't stab himself with it, either.
I let my babies play with their little spoons and forks. Let's face it, they go through the phase where everything goes into their mouths anyway. I let them play and practice even with no food. They learn the grip and the shape. They can gnaw on them while teething. I did it well before a year old. Then, there's a treat when there is food on it!
Give your baby a bowl of of something he likes and let him have a spoon and let him go for it.
It takes practice and it's messy, but that's okay. My son would put his spoon in his food and then put his other hand in the bowl and lick his fingers at first. It was pretty funny.
They get it figured out.
Put a tablecloth UNDER the high chair, and whenever you eat, give your tot the same food and the same utensils... it's going to get messy ;) BUT, practice makes perfect, and it takes trial and error... your baby will get there :) Shake the table cloth out for easy clean up :)
I agree with Rachel. It gets messy, but they only learn by doing. We started with my son about 10 months, but he wasn't really interested in using them until around 13 months. We just put something under his chair and gave him the utensils. They figure it out ;)
Right now you can just let him hold his baby spoon/fork, and or toddler spoon/fork. He will play with it, chew it etc. About a year and a half old, you can teach him how to "Scoop" with the spoon, and when you do this, have him hold the spoon and you hold his hand with the spoon and do a scooping motion and say "scoop". With the fork, I taught my boys, "stab and scoop". When you do that, say the words "stab and scoop" while showing him how to. This is what I did with my two boys. But right now, your little one will just want to play with it and experiment with it. :-)
Start giving him his own utensils now, but don't expect him to do anything but throw or bang them. Continue to feed him with a spoon or baby fork, so he sees what their purpose is. I personally like the "take 'n toss" plastic spoons...I've never tossed one. They're very durable, and although I bought new ones for my baby I still have about 5 left from my first child (now six) that she still uses for oatmeal and ice cream. I also bought them baby forks that have a rubber handle but a real metal face and tines, although the ends are rounded.
My 16 month old KNOWS what they're for, and attempts to use them, but usually gives up and reverts to fingers pretty quickly, which is absolutely normal at this age. She can drink from a regular cup fairly well, but if there's more than a few sips in it she will spill.
They watch you while you eat, and just like that, they pick up the motion. I bet if you gave your son a little spoon, and some applesauce, he (after splattering in it a little bit) would scoop it up and try to get it in his mouth. It takes a little longer for the coordination to follow the knowledge, though!
We gave her the baby spoon to play with sometime before a year and friends bought her a first set of dishes (cup, bowl, plate, utensils) from IKEA for her 1st birthday. She was SO PROUD to have her own stuff! I had not thought to get them, so I'm glad they were gifted. I'd just set them out, show him how and encourage him when he gets it right. We kept the knife til she was 2, though. Spoon and fork to start.
