Does your LO use the correct fork for his/her salad?

Hope74 · #1 January 31st, 2012, 11:19 AM

LOL - just kidding!

But I'm wondering - what do you give your LO to eat? A plate of different foods? A spoon? A fork? A sippy cup? How much help? How much do you try to control the mess?

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I dump finger foods on Max's tray in fairly small portions and take them away if he starts dropping them on the floor. I still give him a fair amount of soft food and baby food. I still spoon it into his mouth at snack time or if I want a meal to be quick (like breakfast before a class), and I help him get food onto his spoon for longer meals. He can get the spoon to his mouth pretty well. I help him hold an open cup, mainly so that he won't dump it all over. He still BFs a lot and is often more interested in playing with liquids than drinking them. But he does understand how to drink from a cup. I never give Max a plate, and when I give him a bowl I am always ready to grab it so he won't turn it upside down. I've fed him from my fork, but he doesn't have one of his own. I suspect I'm being too much of a conrol freak with his meals and am curious how it goes in your homes...

nurselochia · #2 January 31st, 2012, 03:20 PM

LOL, no, he's not good at all with utensils. All he does with a fork/spoon is bang it on the tray. And when we give him a plate, it either ends up on the floor, upside down on his tray and sometimes on his head. DH is the one who usually gives him a plate. I just put it all on his tray, give him his silverware and let him go at it. It's pretty darn messy (and loud) but he'll eventially get it. He's pretty good with a regular cup for a 16month old. Not really because I've worked with him but because he grabs the older kids cups and drinks out of them.

MeggysMommy · #3 January 31st, 2012, 04:16 PM

Yeah all Megan uses her for is banging the highchair tray. I always offer her one though and one day she will figure it out eventually lol.

HopeNFaith · #4 February 1st, 2012, 02:32 PM

I was just thinking this the other day.. glad to hear we're in that similar phase. Plates are usually dumped/thrown sometimes but she does well with a spoon and applesauce/yogurt/mac n cheese from a bowl, and she's starting to use a fork. Mostly she bangs and chews on the handles though lol.

alwayssmile · #5 February 1st, 2012, 05:10 PM

Aiden completely self feeds himself. He gets whatever DH and I are eating on his own plate. The only food he doesn't get are whole nuts and oranges. If it's something that's eaten with utensils he gets the appropriate utensil(s). Some days he uses them well, other days he throws the utensil down and eats completely with his hands. Fork use goes A LOT better than spoon use right now though.

Video of Aiden eating (pretty sure he's not normal for the age lol):

~I ♥ my Munchkin~ · #6 February 1st, 2012, 07:02 PM

OMG that was the cutest video!!! And no, that's not normal haha! But it's totally awesome! It seems he'd try and stuff every single one of those in his mouth tho LOL!

Gabriel can eat w/ a fork, but will still use his fingers most of the time and bang on his tray with it. Spoons? Not even LOL! As for plates? Well, probably for the first 30 seconds he'll leave it there but once we stop paying attention, he'll dump the plate on the tray, himself, the floor, his head...

AutumnMommy · #7 February 4th, 2012, 11:55 AM

Camryn throws utensils as soon as you give them to her. DH or I spoon feed her and when she's done, she smacks the spoon out of our hands
She overturns plates and bowls so we use the tray. As for food, she eats pretty much what we eat. When she's no longer hungry, she empties the contents of her tray on to the floor. We're working on that...
But other than that, she does eat basically anything that we give her/anything we eat.

jensma · #8 February 5th, 2012, 04:30 AM

it really just depends. He can be really demanding and i often give in. I'm all about him exerting his independence...when it works for me. I do usually give him a fork or spoon and sometimes a plate or bowl depending on the food. He loves to feed himself and is pretty good at it. He does have a tendency to throw the bowl or plate on the floor though, which gets old fast. Then i just put it on the tray. He's very into dipping things these days. Last night he covered himself in chick fil a sauce and the night before it was ketchup. He's crazy!