At what age should you teach proper utensil use?
Our son is just over 2 1/2 years old, and has always preferred to feed himself. When he was younger, it was clear that he didn't have the dexterity to manage using a fork, spoon and knife, so we always served him finger-friendly meals. It worked out great.
But now, at 2 1/2 years, it seems as though he should be able to manage to feed himself with a fork and spoon. Of course, he can use these utensils, and does feed himself cereal and yogurt with a spoon, but there's a lot of spillage.
When we try to focus him on making sure that he's not making too much of a mess, he seems to just get fussy, change the subject, and it usually ends up in him getting very distracted from mealtime, which isn't good.
At what age should he be able to use a knife and spoon without making a huge mess? Should we be disciplining him for spilling his food, or accidentally dropping things on the floor? And, if so, suggestions about how to do so without completely disrupting mealtime would be great.
2 Answers
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I agree, using a knife at 2.5 seems a little premature for young fine motor control. I do think encouraging " proper" fork and spoon use is appropriate. When Mom, Dad, ( or Grandma ? ) can "stab" a chunk of food and leave it on the plate for the little one to eat, this encourages utensil use. Balancing food on a fork is a little harder to do! Meanwhile, let the young one still handle a spoon if there is a battle ensuing. Eventually, with help from grownups ( who can leave scoops of mashed potatoes on the childs fork or spoon)utensil use becomes part of the meal routine. Eventually, with much encouragement and patience, fingering food will become less and less a meal time battle.
