Encouraging use of cutlery - ideas please

[Samuel's mum]

Sam is almost 22 months and rarely uses a fork, never uses a knife and only uses a spoon for yogurt. The problem comes from the fact that he's been feeding himself finger food from a very young age - around 8 months. We never really went through that stage where he starts to take the spoon from me because a spoon was hardly ever around. He was busy self-feeding. We stopped with the purees stage very early on. Now I put a fork out and model using a fork myself but he just eats with his fingers - pasta, meat, fish, vegetables, fruit - everything. We don't really have dessert apart from fruit so the morning yoghurt is the only time he really needs to use a spoon which he does reluctantly.

Can you think of any clever ideas to get him more of a cutlery fan? I'm not desperately worried but I feel I should encourage it. His little mates sit there with their forks and Sam looks like a caveman (a very cute one). Any good menu ideas for food that you really have to use cutlery for and he'll want to try?

[Poppy & Lily]

Hi,

My DD didn't really grasp the whole cutlery thing till she was just over 2 what i used to do was just give them to her beside her plate and if she wanted to use them them she could, i also brought her a disney character set and soon after she started to use the fork for her food then eventually she got fed up of the mash going through her fingers so started using the spoon   now the knife well thats another story

Don't worry too much one day he will surprise you and just start using them!


HTH

[*Nicola*]

Don't have any advice sorry but wanted to let you know that it will probably right itself in the long run.

Ciara can use a fork and spoon easily although she is not so good with a knife.  However she most often chooses to use her fingers and that's ok with us.  It is so much easier for them, and as you know they have NO social graces. 

[Lana]

Well my 3 year old will use his fork and spoon sometimes and other times he uses his fingers while he has the fork or spoon in his other hand .  Just leave it out for him and he will eventually do it.  I've noticed that Ewan uses them more often if I don't talk about it.

[J&Jsmom]

My son is 2 and a quarter and he eats just about everything with his fingers - even soup!?? I always give him a spoon or fork and try to encourage him to use them. I eat with him and show him how mummy does it and praise him a lot when he uses them properly but he will do about 2 bites with the utensils and then reverts to fingers. Most irritatingly is he hates having dirty hands so constantly holds up his messy hands saying: yucky mum, wipe. 

Not sure what to suggest. He's gotten a little bit better when I lay them out and talk about how grown up/important/clever it is to use them - but still, not many bites with the spoon. I have found though that sometimes if I just ignore him and leave him to it, he tends to be better than if I cajole.