When is it OK to start baby spoon/fork feeding herself?

Question

My little girl is almost 11 months old. She is a very good and big eater, eating loads of fresh fruit and veg, she hand feeds herself things like strawberries, bananas, pieces of fish, baby bickies & crisps, sandwiches (only with spread on them). Generally anything that she can pick up and eat on her own.

What I want to know is what is the average age that parents start to let their bubs feed themselves as far as spoons and forks go? I can't find a general answer anywhere. She has things like yogurt and custard (for tea desert) and her breakfast and I'm not game to give her these things with a spoon as I can see it going everywhere as she just plays with it.

I feed her with the spoon to show her how to do it and after feeding give it to her to play with but she just throws it about and plays with it.

I don't know if I'm wrong in not letting her try yet?

Thanks.

Answer 1

At 11 months she should have been at least trying a long time ago!! I let my daughter try it on her own around 9 months not that most of it made it to her mouth but it was practice and at 11 months she could feed herself..

Answer 2

i dont think there is a general answer but your baby will let you know . mine is about 15 months now ans trust me if you dont give it tohe she is not eating either . i know it makes a big mess cause she can t quite get the grasp of it but still . and it i not only the spoon and fork . it al the way down to her sponge . during bathtime she wants to bathe herself . i just let her hold one sppn and she pretends she is feeding hersef by digging it in the food but i have one as well to feed . that is the way we do it . so your baby will let you know when she wants to take that step . in the mean time enjoy this time cause this can get very frustrating  

Answer 3

You ARE lettting her try. You are offering her the spoon, and she can't yet figure out what to do with it.  Most kids aren't able to self feed with utensils until after one year, so she still has a little time.  Let her play with it; let her try -- and she'll get there when she's able.

(FWIW, my daughter mastered the fork before the spoon.  She had trouble learning how to keep the spoon upright enroute to her mouth, so the food fell off.  The fork was more forgiving.  I don't remember exactly when she learned to use utensils, but it was, IIRC, between 15-18 months.)

Answer 4

it depends on the child my son is 12 months nearly and he finger foods but doesnt eat himself from a spoon YET however what we do is let him have the bowl afterwards with a small bit in the bottom and a small plastic spoon and he tries, its all about co-ordination. I knwo we feed our son his mushy food to top up his finger foods, if he were to be left to feed himself it would be over the floor and not in his tummy, they arent reay to be completely independent eaters yet HOWEVER they are ready to beging to learn the actions with a little left in the bottom... As for a fork I really would wait until they are 18months plus- FORKS AND BABIES MAKE A DANGEROUS COMBINATION keep to the spoon for now  

Answer 5

Lol...that sounds exactly like what we are going through.  My daughter is 11 mths old and doing the same thing always wanting to take the spoon from me and feed herself.  Although sometimes it goes in her mouth othertimes she just wants to play.  My friend's daughter just started to feed herself with a spoon and a fork and she is 21 mths.  Hope that helps.

Answer 6

i wanted to agree with pippin. my son is 17 months and i won't say he's mastered utinsils because he's still quite messy with them. he did master the fork first. now he's on to the spoon, though a lot still falls off he gets a lot in his mouth too. jsut give it to her once in a while. if it were something that needed a spoon i gave my sona  spoon and i would use a seperate spoon to help him out. she'll learn eventually. most babies her age ahev no clue how to use a spoon

Answer 7

Hi there, 11 months is roughly about the age that my little one started using the spoon herself. She has a little trouble using it but hey this is how she will learn.

I think we filled the spoon for her and she used it.

And yeah she loves making a mess with it every now and then but it is going good now.

She is now aged 14 months, so they do catch on pretty quick. Maybe try it with a little mash (potato and pea mix works well) as it is a little more solid it doesn't make as big a mess.

It is hard to believe that such little ones can make such a big mess sometimes, and just when you think you have them worked out it all changes.

Hope it all works out for you soon.

good luck

Answer 8

Playing with the spoon and throwing food everywhere is part of the game, and the fun! That is exactly what she needs to be doing to learn to feed herself. Just put a plastic tarp down and let her go. Maybe try letting her have the spoon for 5 minutes at a time until she gets the hang of it.

Answer 9

My first one played too much and really didn't get it until he was close to 18 months but my youngest really wanted that spoon and fork and did really well with them at around 10 months = each child is different, I think doctors want them using tools to develop fine motor skills all along, so guess we will always have a little mess to clean up

Answer 10

my daughter was about 15mths when she could fed herself, reasonable well, until then she just helped with the last few spoonfuls.

keep letting her try with the last spoonful, until she gets the hang of it, also give her a spoon for fruit etc, so she can practice.