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How old were your little ones when they started to spoon feed themselves? How long of a process was it before they became proficient? I’m just curious what I’m in for…Sarah has shown a lot of interest in doing it herself and she’s surprisingly good at it…I just don’t know if I’m ready for the mess!!!
I gave her the spoon tonight and set her applesauce in front of her just to see what would happen. She fed herself well over half the container of applesauce (the other half being on her face and bib! ) However, she screamed when I tried to take the spoon from her so I could finish giving her the applesauce…she wanted to do it herself!?! Does this mean she’s ready???? Any advice please??? Thanks!You know either you deal with the mess or you just have a kid you have to feed forever. Griffin’s daycare really pushed the self feeding and he was eating with a spoon like a champ at 15 mo. It was PAINFUL for me b/c I don’t like a messy kid, but I started to deal with it okay after awhile. He also has used a cup without a lid from 18 mo on which I thought was pretty early, but daycare demanded it and let me tell you it is a lot easier than trying to clean those darn lids and pieces!
I think she’s on the right track, you might just have to offer her more food it a lot of it isn’t ending up in her mouth!
Good for her though!!Something you can do to let them practice is let them have their own spoon to eat bites with as you feed them with another spoon. I also used to let my boys practice with things that would stay on the spoon more easily and that they were more likely to get to their mouth without spilling. Then of course after they get the hang of it move on to self-feeding other things. Have fun!
I wish I had some advice, but sadly I don’t like the mess so I still spoon feed Justice. He rarely eats anything anymore though that he needs a spoon for. He usually eats stuff that I just tear or cut into small pieces and put on his plate. My three year old is still using a sippy cup too and I am not ready to give that up either. I have enough messes to clean up.
My boys keep me busy with messes. So, one less thing helps me a ton. I would also love to hear other suggestions though. Maybe I will let Justice try soon. 
Justice’smom2007-07-07 14:47:33I’m one to give my babies a spoon to hold/play with while I spoon feed. Ari has been a stubborn one/independent one from the beginning of starting solids! HE acts like he’s ready to use his own spoon & he’s not even one yet (sooooon!)
the bib that catches everything is the baby bjoern (sp?) bib- it comes in 2 packs- my friend swears by them but I haven’t bought one…
Thanks ladies! I do give Sarah a spoon to hold/use while we’re eating. I’ve helped her scoop up green beans, ravioli, etc…this was the first time I tried anything “messy”. I guess you’re right though…either deal with a mess now or spoon feed my child until she goes off to college!!!
Maybe I’ll let the sitter work on this when school starts back up…HAHA!We recently started letting Alex feed herself with a spoon. I only do it for meals when I have time to give her a quick bath afterward (or if we are going to head outside to play in the pool
). She loves feeding herself oatmeal in the morning. I make it pretty thick so it will stay on her spoon. She makes it through about half the bowl before getting frustrated and using her hands. We’ve also done applesauce and pears this way. Although they don’t stay on the spoon as well as the oatmeal, so I use a second spoon and feed her at the same time so she won’t get frustrated too quickly. I obviously don’t have a big problem with messy though. Kaelyn was such a stubbornly independent little thing that I would have made both of us crazy by trying to insist on her staying clean while eating.
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