When could your DC use a spoon?

[Kestrel]

I am getting annoyed at daycare, who expects DS to be able to feed himself soup and yogurt with a spoon now (13 months). I think that this is in general a bit much to expect, and I know my DS isn't ready. We're working on it, but he's not really interested much yet. However, daycare let DS try to eat yogurt with his hands last week.... and ended up with it in his hair, ears, pockets... and hungry and cranky, to boot.

What age was your child when they could self-feed with a spoon?

[army_mom]

DD is 16 months and still hasn't mastered it. She can put the spoon in her mouth if we fill the spoon, but she hasn't been able to fill the spoon herself and then feed it to herself. And half the time, she likes to just play with the spoon so we have one for her to play with, and one for us to feed her with!

I think expecting that at 13 months is fairly unrealistic. But, that's just me.

[AbbysMom]

My 18 month old is just starting to get the hang of it and still sometimes chucks the spoon for her hands. I started giving her spoons when she was 14 months so I also think expecting a 13 month old to self feed with a spoon is unrealistic.

[Katigre]

That's totally unrealistic. DD has been given spoons since she was 6 months old to practice with, she's 14 months now, and there's no way she can feed herself with a spoon.

[JBaxter]

Jack is getting the hang of it at almost 18 months but is a real mess when he's done.

[Snow mom]

I think 13 months is young to expect efficient/ clean self feeding with a spoon. DD is pretty good with a spoon (16 mo) but still makes a bit of a mess. I have no problem with her eating yogurt with her hands though. Maybe this is a reflection on our daycares don't expect them to stay clean policy? Anyway, if they won't spoon feed your LO (which I think is fine as a policy) and you don't want food in ever crevice, maybe send dry finger food.

[LMPC]

DD is 18 months and still either needs help with a spoon or ends up with a hair full of yogurt. I typically give her Lifeway's probiotic drinks which come in a little pouch and are easy for her to squeeze. The other thing that I do with yogurt is put it in a straw sippy cup with a little milk to thin it out. Would either of those be an option if they are bent on making your LO feed himself?

[maestramommy]

I am getting annoyed at daycare, who expects DS to be able to feed himself soup and yogurt with a spoon now (13 months). I think that this is in general a bit much to expect, and I know my DS isn't ready. We're working on it, but he's not really interested much yet. However, daycare let DS try to eat yogurt with his hands last week.... and ended up with it in his hair, ears, pockets... and hungry and cranky, to boot.

What age was your child when they could self-feed with a spoon?

ummm, cough cough, my kids learned to use a spoon very late. Dora learned sometime after she turned 3. Arwyn was faster, maybe 2.5? But she's still very messy with foods like yogurt and ice cream. Even with a spoon it ends up everywhere. She still uses her hand as a default.

[mousemom]

We started letting DS try to spoon feed himself things like yogurt and applesauce around 13 months. Of course, in the beginning he would mostly just hold the spoon and use his hands to actually eat the food. Definitely a big mess. Now (almost 17 months) he mostly uses the spoon and gets maybe 50-70% of the food in his mouth with the rest ending up on his bib or the tray. We've really liked the Sassy Less Mess Toddler spoons (recommended by someone else on the board):
http://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Baby-Tod...0519727&sr=8-1

[KrisM]

Somewhere around 15 months, they could all get yogurt into their mouths with a spoon. But, even now at 20 months, DS2 has it on his hands, hair, face, clothes, etc when he's done. He does eat some, but is a huge mess.