Cups and utensils?

[zandeela]

Ok,  just curious about real cups and utensils.  anyone's LO able to use either?  if so what were the "tricks" you used to get to that point?

Mine will play with a spoon,  sometimes using it correctly, mostly pick up with hand put on spoon and sometimes it makes it all the way to the mouth usually it falls in her lap.  She like for me to scoop the spoon and she guide it to her mouth.

Real cups is still a no go here.  I let her play with one in the bathtub so when she dumps it on herself it is no big deal.  She will sip from one if I am holding it, but she like to try to hold it, then makes a mess.   She LOVES straws.  I have recently switched to a sippy cup that does not have any type of nipple,  it looks like a travel coffee cup, and is spill proof.  She has learned she has to go to the certain area to get a drink 

Edit: words are always hard

[fishbulb]

He's getting the hang of spoons, but it's still hit and miss. He does better with sticky foods like yogurt and mashed sweet potatoes. We just introduced toddler forks last week so he's still figuring that out. Open cups are a no-go.

[Deleted]

I provide Levi with a fork or spoon at dinner for him to practice with. Sometimes I scoop up the food for him and give him the utensil back so he can practice getting it to his mouth; he almost never succeeds but that's why we do it for practice. He occasionally manages to scoop up something on his spoon/fork but again very rarely makes it to his mouth (yogurt/appleauce type foods he can halfway manage)

Cups- yes he practices by taking our cup, glass, or bottle and manages to get a sip but primarily uses sippys. I don't mind the constant clean up if only a small amount of liquid is in the cup but not free access.

[fish8412]

LO only uses straw cups. She can use a regular cup but I have to hold on and watch how much water comes out.

She uses a spoon fairly well while eating yogurt. Every now and then I have to help angle the spoon so she gets enough yogurt on it. She doesn't use forks. Tried a few times but epic fail and she would rather use her fingers anyways.

[katka512]

LO uses straw cups. She will take sips from a regular cups but I don't give her free access. Too many spills.
She uses a fork pretty well and is good at using a spoon for yogurt and similar foods. I offer one or both at every meal so she keeps practicing.

[nattybumppo]

I have no advice except offering the often heard "every child is different."

DD1 was/is a great eater but maybe because we used BLW with her, she preferred her hands until she was about two. In fact, for a long time, she wouldn't let me spoon feed her anything. So for yogurt I started buying those yogurt tubes and she'd eat yogurt from there. (She'd also take food from a pouch, but not from a spoon, go figure...) DD1 wouldn't take a bottle so for cups, we moved straight to a straw cup and eventually to a hard spout sippy cup. She wasn't as interested in real cups and maybe wasn't using one regularly until 3?

DD2 didn't take to BLW so we've done a lot of purees/pouches/spoons. For a couple months she has been amazingly adept at feeding herself with the spoon! She can get it in there and get some out and get it to her mouth! She does quite well with it and prefers to feed herself with the spoon then let us spoon feed her. She is also much more interested in regular cups. We still don't give her a lot of access to liquids in regular cups, but she "drinks" out of the cups in her play kitchen correctly and (unfortunately) loves to drink bath water out of the scoops in the tub. :/

I guess I always just thought both skills would be developed when they were interested in it? I never really pushed either. Maybe that's not the way to do it?

[lakecountrygal]

DS uses the plastic spoons and forks and does fairly well with them. We started with yogurt and applesauce and he won't eat now without them. If he can't get food on his utensil he uses his hand to put it on the utensil and then to his mouth.

We practice with a Dixie cup when he has water or a small amount of juice or milk. Never more than 2 tablespoons of liquid in th cup. He does ok, most days he ends up with 75% of it down his shirt.

I figure continued practice will help him improve his skills and that I just need to have a lot of patience with him.

[wildhoney4508]

I will give LO a spoon of it's something like yogurt or oatmeal and she loves to feed herself. (Most still ends up on her face) Forks aren't as frequently used. She still
picks up most food w her fingers.

[pearlvirus]

Mine uses a spoon, fork and real cups. Not that she is super adapt with any of them but she likes to try, so I let her almost every meal. I think you just have to let them make a mess until they figure it out. We got some tiny (basically shot size) glasses that really helped and I still only fill them 1/2 full so the mess isn't that bad! I don't think you have to do anything but hand them proper sized tools then demonstrate by eating your own food with similar tools. They work it out!