Tips on using cutlery please!

[Bellenden Belle]

Wise family room folk,

Tips wanted please - how did you help your little one get to grips with cutlery? Baby belle has decided he wants to have a go - not something I would have started at eleven months but hey ho! He's determined he doesn't want me holding my hand over his and is intent on doing it himself but is getting quite frustrated. He's clearly got the right idea from watching us. So - did anyone find a particular brand of kid cutlery particularly helpful? Or certain foodstuffs? Or any other tips?

I'm happy just to let him figure it out for himself over the next few months but any tips on how to support him would be welcome.

[hellosailor]

the baby bjorn spoons are particularly easy, short stubby handle and deep spoon good for keeping the food on, also they're all plastic / rubber with no metal so less slippy. They really helped ours get to grips with using cutlery.

We also bought the right angled kids cutlery you can get from boots and mothercare etc but we haven't really used it so not sure how useful it is.

[Natalie Doula]

Hi Bellenden Belle,

I found al dente pasta particulary the tubes (think its Penne) cut in half was a really good food for the little ones to push their fork into without losing it on the way to their mouth:)

Good luck

[Fuschia]

Def baby bjorn plates and spoons. And offering thick sticky porridge or yoghurt in a handled cup (cheap tommee tippee with the lid off) helps them too.

[Fuschia]

Also expect them to get bored and use their hands a fair bit. Cover the floor, put the, in old clothes, and straight in the bath after, if they have pasta sauce etc.

The more they get their hands into it and experiment with the textures and tastes, the more they will enjoy it.

Try not to hover, just watch in case of choking. It's best if you show little interest in how much they consume, I have found.

[oimissus]

I used angled cutlery from Boots which I thought worked very well as they eat off the side of the spoon to begin with. Miss Oi started around 12 months and got on very well with these.

[Bellenden Belle]

Thank you all so much. I have just ordered the Babybjorn plate and spoon - exactly the advice I was looking for.I hadn't come across them before.

Going to check out the Boots ones too.

Now where's that newspaper to put on the floor.....

[Knomester]

We have the OXO spoon and fork which our toddler used from quite early on. Before that he just used a weaning spoon to feed himself and then the tommee tippee spoons which have a shorter ergonomically shaped handle. My husband helped him learn by sitting patiently with him around the same age as your little one encouraging him to 'scoop' and showing him so he could copy.

As for foods, like Fuschia mentioned, anything thick and easy to scoop out of a high sided bowl - porridge, yogurt, soups, casseroles, scrambled eggs, small pasta shapes in sauce, etc

[Bellenden Belle]

I just thought I'd come back and say that six weeks after taking people's advice and purchasing baby bjorn spoons and plate, Baby Belle has mastered feeding almost entirely by himself. I wanted to post so as to thank people for their advice and also to say that the Baby Bjorn stuff though ridiculously pricey IMO really did make a difference and I would genuinely recommend them.

And we have gone from very messy to hardly any mess - miracles!!!!!

[Fuschia]

Brilliant! The bb spoons and bowls are pricey, but they were a revelation when I tried them. Probably cheaper then buying lots of different cutlery but not getting on with it