How do I get ds to put his spoon in his mouth without turning it over?!

[DJs mummy]

So the question really says it all.  DS is 15 months and he is starting to try to feed himself. At the moment we put the food on his spoon and then he puts it in his mouth but whenever he puts the spoon or fork in his mouth he always turns it over and everything falls off   I have a feeling the replies are gonna all be along the lines of 'practise, practise, practise' and I do totally agree.  I know he just needs to figure it out himself, but is there anything miraculous I can do to help him figure it out?   As you can see from my avatar, most of it ends up down his front 

TIA

[evanskimberley]

Oh I remember that!!! here's what I did.
-Held her hand over the top of hers and showed her how to sccop the food, put it her mouth and the scoop it back out again. (Holly was struggling with pulling it up at the end, wasn't getting any food off the spoon)
-Bought bent spoons from Boots, they are chubby and she could grip the better, they are a bit more uncomfiortable to turn over and eat, so it helped her to do the above.

[Marisa's Mom]

We're currently practicing using the spoon too, so I understand what you mean.   

I didn't just give DD the spoon and let her try it on her own. I started out by loading the spoon for her, then holding it out for her to grab the handle, while I still have my hand on the spoon to help support/guide it towards her mouth.

We gradually changed to me loading the spoon and letting her handle the spoon on her own without my hand helping to hold it steady or guiding it towards her mouth. Of course, I only do this with less messy foods (cubes of waffle/pancakes, cubes of yams, etc). We're not ready to try it with the messy foods (spaghetti in sauce, yogurt, etc). I praise her when she successfully gets the spoon and food into her mouth. And she feels so good about getting the food in her mouth that smiles (& makes a happy sound), holds the spoon up and waves it around in victory.  She's also a quick study, motivated by her desire to eat. 

Sometime in the future we will practice getting her to load up her own spoon herself...

[Deb_in_oz]

Hazel - Liv tends to do this too, but we just show hr again the correct way and let her practice. we do just giveher the bowl or plate of food with fork or spoonand lether learn by doing though. the more they get free reign to do it thebetter they get IMO. alex went through the same phase and eventually stopped when she got good enough.

there is no way liv woudl let me load her spoon more than once or twice a meal though - her frustration factor has gone down lots since i just let her at it. the thicker te food the easier it is as even turned over thick yogurt sticks to the spoon 

[*Nicola*]

With Ciara she was so eager to get going on her own we had no choice but to let her go for it - messy food at all.  She didn't seem to mind that half of the food was missing by the time she got the spoon to her mouth!  I seem to remember her using fingers, hands, forks or spoons as vehicles to transport food to her mouth.  She worked it all out for herself in the end.

Messy food might be easier, as it will stick to the spoon, so your lo will get the food and learn the conection quicker.  Depends if you can tolerate the mess thou 

[DJs mummy]

Strangely enough Daniel seems to have suddenly grasped it today!!  I gave him the same meal as I did yesterday and today he ate the whole thing without turning the spoon over once    I still loaded up the spoon for him but he did the rest.  Yesterday must have been his practise and today was the grasping.  I hope he's always such a quick learner 

[Marisa's Mom]

Yay! Way to go Daniel!!!