When did your DC start to use a utensils and plates?

[BabyBearsMom]

DD is 13 months old and we are very lucky as she is a fantastic eater. She eats off of the tray of her high chair and uses her hands like little shovels (she is very enthusiastic about eating, and scarfs everything down, DH and I think it is hilarious). MIL, who is certainly not all-wise IMO, suggested to DH that DD really needs to start learning to use a fork/spoon and eating from a plate now that she is 1. I think this is probably too soon. She has some small muscle control in that she can pick up and maneuver smaller toys and has mastered a pincer grasp but I can't imagine her tolerating the extra time it would take to use a fork instead of her hands. Am I just babying her or is my MIL a nut (well more of a nut than I already think she is)? If I should start getting her to eat with utensils and a plate, any recommendations on what I should buy?

[mikala]

First off, I'm jealous of your good eater :) Before you introduce anything else make sure you catch the shoveling on video!

I don't think that she HAS to start using utensils at this age but my DS and many of his friends could use at least spoons by 13 months. The results weren't always pretty but they could all get food to their mouths and were starting to eat off plates and bowls.

Greek yogurt is a good early spoon food because it's thick enough to stick to the spoon.

How is DD with throwing? If she doesn't grab and throw you have more options and could even use cheap adult dishes--garage sale, goodwill, whatever.

If she's a thrower you'll probably want to stick with plastic for awhile. We used the cheap IKEA plastic plates for awhile and tried some of the suction cup bowls. Of the ones we tried the Boon one worked the best but none of them were great.

For utensils IKEA has some cheap kid-sized stainless flatware. The Take and Toss brand spoons work pretty well but their forks are a little spork-like and pretty much useless. DS just used a salad fork.

[Claki]

I don't think there is any rush at 13 months. Introduce a spoon and let her hold with one hand while she eats with the other. My MIL is constantly saying that we treat our son like a dog by allowing him to eat straight off his high chair tray without a plate. As you could imagine, that infuriates me! DS started somewhere around 15 or 16 months copying us and using his spoon, though he still needs lots of help loading it with food. But we haven't rushed the process. I really like the Take and Toss utensils and for a non-disposable option the OXO utensils that are fairly new in stores.

As for plates, that depends on your child. DS still has to be watched constantly if he has a plate or he will flip his food on himself and the floor. For us, I'm just shooting for DS to master utensils and plates by age 2. For now we're just practicing.

[brittone2]

I am hazy with my memory of the older 2 kids. DS2 is coming up on 14 months and can spear food with a fork fairly well. In fact, he gets annoyed now if we don't give him a fork and will screech until he gets one. We preload a spoon with things like yogurt and he'll pick it up and put it in his mouth.

We haven't gotten to plates yet. He eats off the kitchen table (using his Tripp Trapp).

[daisymommy]

At about 1 year our kids were grabbing utensils from us, so we give them their own :) The little Gerber and Sassy ones. They don't hold it "proper" or anything, but do a great job getting food on it and into their mouth--even yogurt and applesauce!

I use Correlle ware plates--Walmart--(practically unbreakable glass--even when dropped on hardwood floors!). Then there is no fear of chemicals in plastic, and they can go in the dishwasher.
You can try this thing too (suction cups any bowl/plate to their high chair tray or kitchen table) http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3944032

[sherry7]

I was just wondering this same thing, because my daughter turned one a couple of weeks ago. I've given her plates and bowls, which invariably turns into a big mess when she turns them upside down. I gave her a spoon for the first time today, and put a scoop of mashed potatoes directly on her high chair tray. She seems to get the concept, but I think it's going to take a bit of work before she has the coordination.

[BabyBearsMom]

Okay, I gave DD a spoon last night (I have some of the Ikea silverware for my nephew when he is here) and she liked chewing on it and holding it, but promptly flung it aside when food came into the picture. I probably made a mistake in trying it out on pasta night, which is her favorite (literally the child is eating the pasta so enthusiastically that she gets pasta sauce up her nose!). I am going to keep trying. Thanks for the advice mommas!

[PGTB]

DS is almost 13 months and he had interest in utensils long time ago, grabbing spoons with his hands and wanting to eat himself. Of course he has no coordination to make this happen and most food in the spoon (and the spoon itself) ends up on the floor.

DS is not a great eater, just starting to get a little better. He is underweight on the verge of FTT. So, we haven't tried to teach him to use utensils and whatever shoveling gets food into his mouth works for us. But, he is just wanting to do things himself and copy everything we do. We got him Boon toddler practice fork and spoon (they bend) and are short and small for him to hold. We usually pre-load the spoon or a fork (it's more like a spork) with something sticky like butter and avocado (we need to fatten him up) and he brings it to his mouth and sucks on it.

We also use the adult spoons/forks and let DS hold on to them while we bring them to his mouth. He is content to be able to exercise some sort of control by holding with his hand and we do all the guiding and maneuvering. The round shape tablespoon works the best because you can use it at any angle. Sometimes we eat the food with our hands that we usually would eat with the fork just to make sure DS grabs it and puts into his mouth without the whole utensils play. Probably, if he were not as underweight we would be more adventurous and let him use utensils without our guidance and he probably would learn a lot faster.

It also helped us to have DS at the adult table in a booster seat eating with us so that he sees us eat, I guess this is where he got the desire to eat with utensils.

[LMPC]

At around 1 we gave DD her own plate and utensils....I think the plate hit the floor a couple times, but not many. We never pushed her to use a fork or spoon. Even at 2.5, sometimes she does and sometimes she doesn't. She is also a good eater and I have noticed that she eats with her hands in the beginning of the meal (more reliable way of getting the food in) and then tends to pick up the fork toward the end (when she's not as hungry). Works for me!

[lizzywednesday]

In the BLW book, the author seems to feel that a fork is easier for a baby to maneuver than a spoon, so I've been giving my DD toddler forks for a bit now.

With spoons, I still pre-load the spoon & hand it off to her.

I haven't attempted dishes yet. She still throws food when she's done instead of signing "finished."