Toddler stopped using utensils

amother

Sun, Feb 28 2021, 10:11 am

Hi everyone

My 2.5 DD used to use a fork and spoon nicely at every meal. Recently (past two weeks or so) she's taken to using her hands to eat food again. She generally will do so neatly (eating cereal with milk by pinching each piece) but occasionally she will stuff food in her mouth a la Cookie Monster and make a mess.

I'm assuming it's a small toddler regression since there's a new baby in the picture (4 m/o), she's learning how to use the potty, and things have been a little stressful for me and DH lately. I know all of those can contribute to a regression. That being said, a few questions:

1) how can I encourage her to start using utensils again? I am trying to not be pushy, still offering utensils at every meal, etc. But others like her grandparents can be a little more aggressive or try bribing her and I think those approaches are making things worse.

2) how long do regressions like this usually last?

And any other advice would be helpful, too. Thank you

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Mar 03 2021, 10:29 pm

No idea how long it will last. I personally would not push it or try to encourage since it's just drawing attention to it. If you've already mentioned it a few times and she's still not using them then she's made clear what she has chosen to do. She will grow up and at some point realize that she should probably be using utensils.
That's just my opinion. She sees everyone else in the world using them. It's not like she CAN'T she's just choosing not to.
As for your parents you can try to convince her that at their house and other people's houses it's important to eat with forks and spoons but like you said it may not really help much. I assume you have tried explaining to her grandparents that you are kind of just letting it be for now. If they keep bribing/nagging her about it I really don't think it's worth it for you to upset them over. I think she'll be OK in the end.

That's just my take on it.