me again guys, also jsut wondering my boy is starting to grab at his spoon all the time. he eats heaps of finger foods but i still give the bulk of his meals by spoon because it takes so long for him to eat he looses interest and doesnt eat enough. how old should they be before you try to get them to learn to use their spoon themselves or introduce a fork

I don't know how old your son is but if he's grabbing for the spoon then he's probably interested and now might be a good time to start! Yes, it will take a long time for him to eat a meal this way, so start off when you're not in a hurry (don't start at breakfast time if you need to leave for work!) and expect that most of it will go down his front/all over his face/anywhere but in his mouth, so cover all surfaces appropriately.

A good method to start with might be if you feed him most of the meal, and then when there are only a few spoonsful left let him take over - he might get frustrated if he's hungry but can't get food in his mouth, and this way he shouldn't be too hungry when he starts.

Most children will probably master using a fork quite quickly after they've mastered a spoon - it isn't too different, just cut the food into bite-sized pieces and let them practice stabbing!

Don't know about knives, my DD is 2 and doesn't really use one properly. She uses it to spread butter or marmite on bread, but not to cut food during a meal. I still cut her food up for her, and sometimes I give her a knife to have a try with, or other times she doesn't even have one.

When DD started grabbing at the spoon we just gave her one as well. So she had a go but it was still me/DH getting most of the food in her mouth with the spoon we had. Seemed to transition pretty well after that! We started with forks only about 2 or so and have only just started with a knife sometimes - she is 3 1/2 now.

i agree with the others. when my bubs became interested in the spoon i gave them one to have a fiddle with but still did most of the feeding at the same time. my kids tended to pick up using a fork easier tho, at about 14months they could stab most things with the help of their hands lol but neither of them could really use a spoon properly until about 18months unless the substance was sticky like cooked weetbix. my DD is now 3 and can only use a knife for spreading things on toast and we cut things up for her as pp said. i think shell be ready soon to try cutting soft things herself.

thats great thanks guys i will try giving him a spoon as well and hold of on the fork for a few months. thanks again

I gave mine cutlery really early. Just to familiarise them with it. They both use a knife and fork now (tommee tipee ones, awesome ergonimic handles). Can't say they effectively cut and spread yet, but forks and spoons are a must. Not with wraps, f&c's, pizza, etc...
I laid the table at Christmas at my MIL's house, and I gave all the kids knives and forks, and my SIL (who's kids are the same age as mine), said "who gave my kids a knife?!". So obviously not everyone does as I do....

my 15 month old uses a fork well. But spoons are so messy so I haven't given her one yet.

thanks guys will try introducing a fork as well i think he has lots of meat and pasta so might be easier for him to try to stab

If you're worried about him losing interest while he learns to use the spoon, get two spoons, one for him and one for you (use the same type of spoon since you will keep switching with him.) While he figures out the scooping up, get a small mouthful in there for him to work on.