Lindsay quite happily let us feed him until he was nearly 18 months and then he went straight to using his spoon/fork, but the girls wanted to self feed at around 10-11 months but they would just use their fingers and Paige still does some of the time. They were both about 18 months before they started regularly using a fork and spoon properly. It does make a mess with the sloppier foods, but I'm happy for Paige to use her fingers still so long as she eats.