Teaching how to use a spoon

[bridee]

DD2 is 13mths, she has been self feeding finger food for a number of months now but I have been doing anything that needs a spoon eg. yogurt. She was walking around the house recently holding a spoon and cup pretending to feed herself very well so thought she is now capable to spoon feeding herself. So have let her go for it for the past week with yogurt. She does start using the spoon to the best of her ability but then decides it is quicker to shovel the yogurt in with her hand and occasionally will do the odd mouthful with her spoon. Just wondering if I should help her with the spoon to help her get the idea of the action needed or just let go for it hand or spoon and she will work out the spoon thing in her own time.

I'm handling the mess ok at the moment. I was trying to find long sleeve bibs that fit her (the elastic on the sleeves were all to big and the food just went down her arm but I have since bought a whole heap of cheap windcheaters that I am now using as bibs which is working a treated and much cheaper than the long sleeve bibs you can buy.

[onthefly]

Just let her practice - it's the best way to learn. It probaby won't take her too long.
Yogurt is a tricky one - and apparently it feels really nice to smear it everywhere but that might just be my son

[Nettie]

I've found that my DS picked up using the spoon a whole lot quicker if we were eating yoghurt at the same time - with a spoon. Then he copied us and learnt better skills...

HTH!

[The[cookie]Doctor]

I've found that my DS picked up using the spoon a whole lot quicker if we were eating yoghurt at the same time - with a spoon. Then he copied us and learnt better skills...

HTH!

We had no luck getting DS "taught" however once he went to childcare (at 2!!!) he became much better at it! His dexterity improved tenfold just by watching other children, so I definitely recommend Nettie's idea!

[Nelle]

Yoghurt's messy, but it's great because it's so encouraging - they dip it in and get something on the spoon every time! A slightly neater way might be to have a spoon each? You feed bub with a spoon and give bub her own spoon.

As for the mess - I also have a hand shoveller. Try a tea towel as an oversized napkin/bib that covers bub's whole body, pegged at the back. Works for us.