Plates and Bowls

[Unregistered]

Hello! At what age do you think it's appropriate to start using plates and bowls? I currently have three babies barely under one in care and each time I try to use anything in the high chair, it goes straight to the floor along with its contents. Am I introducing these things too soon? TIA!

[storybookending]

Shortly after a year for me. By 14-15 months. I'll start with snacks and let them master that before I even try lunch plates.

[kendallina]

Yup, my son threw bowls to the floor until about 15 months. Now he's 18 months and rarely, if ever, does it.

[hwichlaz]

When I start plate training, I sit right next to them. If I have to get up for a moment I remove the plate.

[HappyEverAfter]

I have a 14mth old and the only time she is allowed to have any dishes directly on her high chair tray is at afternoon snack time when she gets a bowl with cut up string cheese and goldfish crackers and a sippy cup of juice. She almost always does fine with this. At other meals and snacks though I hold the bowl and spoon feed her. This honestly is just to keep the mess down as other meals(spaghetti for example) tend to be messier than cheese and crackers. She technically can feed herself though she prefers to use her hands instead of a spoon and usually plays with the food more than she eats it. I'll try again in a few months at letting her feed herself meals but for now she just isn't quite ready and I'm not ready for the mess or to fight her on eating instead of playing.

[Josiegirl]

My dcg just turned 1 yo a week ago and I put a plate on her tray, with a baby spoon. Granted she makes a mess but does pretty good for her age. Once she starts to lose interest in what's on her plate, she'll start picking the plate up. When I catch her doing that, I'll place the plate back on her tray. If she does it again, I'll just transfer the food to her tray and let her finish. She's a proud little girl because she sees a plate for her the same as her friends get. I don't feed her anything, she does it all herself. So what if she wears yogurt or applesauce in her hair for the day? I've already warned her mom.

[MarinaVanessa]

I'm not sure that I'd try plate training kids under 1 year old. Some of my 18+ month olds still have a hard time keeping their plates on the table. I typically don't do purees and start with soft bite-size finger foods when they're under a year and I just put it right on the highchair tray.

[flying_babyb]

Ok I was one year old teacher. The kids ate at a normal (toddler sized) table. They all had plates at there spot. The first few days I would put a hand on their plates. After that, If they flipped them, they were done. They caught on pretty quick

[Ariana]

Depends on the kid. Most kids are ready at 18 months. Some kids I wait. I have a nearly 3 year old who still struggles with a cup so he regularly gets a sippy cup. I do part time though so the skills they learn here won't help much at home. If I did full time everyone would start at 18 months.

My own kids started at 12 months.