Let’s talk about utensils! Read on for what to look for when choosing utensils for your baby or toddler, how to encourage them to use spoons and forks, and what to do if they are resistant or prefer their hands at every meal.
This post is all about helping kids use spoons, forks and eventually knives, but we recognize that not all cultures use these utensils.
Disclosure: some links below are affiliate links, which means (at no cost to you) we will make a small commission if you click through and make a purchase via Amazon. Check out our entire Amazon store here. We do not receive sponsorships by companies to promote specific products.
How Do I Get My Toddler Using Cutlery
Judy here! I am an OT Feeding Therapist, and one thing I emphasize with my clients who are looking for utensils for their baby is that it’s important to keep them small and keep it simple. You do not need to invest in a bunch of different types of spoons and forks, and interestingly, the products we recommend for infants can be used well into toddlerhood – there’s no need to have multiple types for multiple ages if you don’t want to.
When choosing silverware for your baby, look for short and wide handles. Short handles, or something less than 5 ½ inches in total length, are easier for a baby to maneuver. This means that the handle will be shorter than many traditional “infant” utensils. It should also mimic a real utensil in how it works. This encourages the appropriate motor skill as they learn to turn it toward their mouth by rotating their wrist.
If you’re shopping for spoons, make sure the bowl of the spoon can hold enough food or has grip that food will stick to (like a NumNum GOOtensil) so all of the food doesn’t fall off before they get it to their mouth.
Teaching Kids To Use Utensils
When deciding on forks, make sure the tines are rounded and not sharp, but are strong enough to hold on to food well when you preload it for your baby or toddler. Many silicone or plastic products don’t appropriately hold food on them, and this can cause motor frustration for your child! I use metal forks with almost all my infant clients. However, what matters most is your comfort level and knowing your child. Always supervise your kiddo with food, especially with utensils.
What about a choke guard? Some manufacturers use “choke guards” to prevent kids from pushing utensils too far back in their mouths. Unfortunately, these guards prevent kids from learning the confines of their mouth and “grading” how far back they should put the silverware.
I like NUK/Gerber Graduates Kiddy Cutlery, Num Num Inc. GOOtensils, Munchkin Polish Stainless Steel set and the Munchkin Splash set because they’re pretty easy to find, relatively inexpensive and can be used well into toddlerhood. Our Amazon shop is full of our favorite utensils!
Stainless Steel Kids Flatware Silverware, Gogojoy Safe Child Cutlery Toddler Utensil(fda), Cute And Colorful, Ideal For Home And Preschools, Set Of 2
We recommend introducing loaded utensils around 6 months in our Infant Feeding course – yes, utensils are important in BLW or infant self-feeding! First and foremost, we want your baby to use their hands to feed themselves. That is most important. However, incorporating utensils right away is great practice.
Please remember – it’s not a race, it’s a process. We don’t expect most toddlers to independently scoop with a spoon or stab food with a fork until closer to 16-18 months if they have been practicing regularly. Loaded utensils are the first step – soon they’ll try to load them independently.
It’s completely normal for your baby or young toddler to default to their hands while learning to use utensils! Never force your child to use utensils. Touching food with their hands and messy exploration at mealtime is still SO important.
Child Disposable Birch Wood Cutlery Sets Of Party Supplies
The biggest issue is – CAN they use utensils? Are they using their hands for other tasks even if they put down the fork at mealtime? Are they using their hands in their daily play? If the answer is yes, we generally don’t worry about utensil use as long as your child is *able* to use them and shows progression toward more coordinated use of their hands as they get older.
Make sure they’re also using their hands for many of their meals – involve utensils here and there so they have the opportunity to practice, but touching food and using their hands is super critical at this age.
Have you noticed that if you let your baby or toddler feed themselves with loaded utensils they are likely to hold the spoon or fork hostage? How do you get it back from them without causing a battle?
Securegrip Pediatric Cutlerygrover Gear Medical
Without the struggle to pry the utensil from your child’s hands, mealtime stays more fun and positive and your child may be more likely to continue self-feeding! If you take away the spoon, make sure to offer a another loaded spoon.
My Three Spoon Circus can also be used with babies who are transitioning off of spoon-feeding. Sometimes parents are too nervous to offer finger foods, so letting their baby feed themselves purees can help them build confidence in the self-feeding process. Offer a small amount of purée on the spoon and hand it to baby to put in their own mouth.
Is your toddler or older kid skilled at using utensils…but they’re also a selective eater? One simple technique we teach in our online Toddler Course is to bring out a unique utensil every so often.
Too Soon To Spoon? How To Know When Your Child Is Ready For The Spoon
Why does this work? Kids are drawn to novelty and new things. They want to master the world around them. It’s why they’re interested in the sample at the grocery store – it’s not the food itself, it’s the small cup and toothpick! Sometimes kids are more driven to play than they are to eat. When you combine play into the mealtime, like with fun utensils, you allow them to meet their developmental needs WHILE eating. Plus, it’s fun…and you’re more likely to relax and enjoy as well.
Of course, we don’t make kids eat the food – we simply offer these as a new way for them to interact with it. Even picking up the food is a win – one day they might actually eat it.
Our Amazon shop is full of fun novelty tools and ideas to spice up mealtime just a bit. You know your kiddo best – toothpicks or skewers might be tools you want to wait a bit to use. We recommend them no earlier than 2 years of age.
Tips For Helping Your Child To Use Cutlery
Remember, every kiddo is different, and mastering utensils takes lots of practice, patience and yes, even some mess. With time, your child will be a pro!So you want to raise a civilized baby with table manners to use utensils? ? Perfect! I’m here to help. Let’s dive right in.
Please note: This post is not sponsored or influenced by any baby companies or brands whatsoever. The recommendations I make are purely brands I enjoy and have had experience trying out. There are some links to products where I do get a small commission from Amazon should you decide to purchase them through there. This helps pay for my services to you.
There’s no official recommendation, but I personally recommend to start offering utensils right from the first meal. There really is no such thing as too soon! Even though they won’t know how to use it that early, if it starts showing up at mealtime right at the beginning of their starting solids journey, it allows them to make the association that utensils and food go together quite easily! It will also give them more exposure to utensils early on and more opportunities to practice…which we know will lead to a greater and sooner likelihood of success.
Fork & Spoon
Now, if you don’t do this, I can assure you…you are not behind, nor have you ruined your child’s opportunity to learn how to use utensils.
So if you’re not feeling like tackling this skill…then by all means don’t rush! But as with all things feeding and development, since it’s a skill…skills take practice. And I personally like to exercise any skill early on and often so it becomes really fine tuned and both baby and parent can reap the benefits sooner. Utensil use allows for more options when eating meals, it fosters more independence, and potentially lets you enjoy generally less messy meals!
Like any skill, when a child masters it will be different for each and every one. But many parents and websites believe that healthy, term children aren’t capable of mastering utensil use until 14-24 months – which sooo isn’t true! While it’s very reasonable that some kids may very well take longer to master it (and that’s a-ok!), it’s usually just because they haven’t had enough opportunity to practice.
Stainless Steel Toddler Utensils (bright Blue, Green, Gray)
For example, if a baby or toddler has been spoon fed their entire life, or perhaps have only had minimal experience self-feeding, they may not have mastered the skill of accurately bringing food, or a utensil, to their little mouths with precision. For a baby who’s been self-feeding from the start, they may have better coordination and fine motor skills developed through more practice,
0 Comments
Posting Komentar