Self feeding??

My daughter still uses her hands no matter what she’s eating I just leave the food on her plate and give her a spoon. sometimes she will put the spoon in her mouth and chew it or push food around with it but ultimately throws it on the floor and uses her hands .

My son is 16 months and still won’t really use a spoon / fork on his own, he prefers his hands. I’ve been giving him utensils since about 10/11 months. I’ve showed him how to use them soooo many times, and he’s practiced a bunch too. I think it’s different for every baby / kid honestly.

My son is 14 months and I’m a dietitian. I’ve been pre loading spoons as well as letting him use his hands since he was 6 months. Sometimes he doesn’t care about the cutlery and only uses his hands, sometimes he uses the cutlery. I don’t generally feed him though (unless we’re out and I don’t want him getting absolutely filthy), and never have.
He’s gotten much more interested in using cutlery himself in the last couple of months.
That being said, it varies greatly and you have NO reason to be concerned.
Continue to give him the opportunity to feed himself, don’t spoon feed him and he’ll get there eventually. Try different cutlery - thick handles and sticky spoons are great, different textures and continue with finger foods as well. Don’t wipe him while he eats, wait til he’s done and then wipe or bathe him. It’s messy af but that’s part of the process.

I would say just offer spoon/fork where appropriate with every meal, but its definitely normal for little ones to prefer to use their hands. My son is 28months old he can absolutely use cutlery but sometimes still likes to use his hands, particularly if hes trying something new as he likes to smell and explore the texture before trying. Just keep offering the spoon, and also when eating meals together he will see you modelling and using cutlery aswell but he will get it in no time xx