What age do you teach children to cut their own food? - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What age do you teach children to cut their own food?

Posted: 8/27/2016 9:51:09 AM EDT

Serious question. I don't have kids but I think 11 years old is too old to be cutting a boy's food for him into bite-size pieces. Some friends of mine do that and I asked them why they don't they let him use a knife to cut his own food and with a straight face, said he wasn't old enough to do it yet.

Isn't that something you learn to do by the time you're 5 or 6?? I don't know how he eats at school.

Posted: 8/27/2016 9:55:25 AM EDT

[#1]

I started teaching my daughter at 3. We started with small soft stuff first--like french toast sticks. It sure has paid off starting her off early using a fork and knife. She is six now and pretty much doesn't need anyone helping her with that stuff.

Posted: 8/27/2016 9:56:20 AM EDT

[#2]

In on this, cause my SO refuses to let the 10 year olds learn to cut food, and I think it's ridiculous. We go out to eat, and they a forking a whole fucking pancake to take bites out of it.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:03:20 AM EDT

[#3]

That's horrible.

Does the boy not have a father?

Or are both father and mother mentally ill?

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:03:20 AM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:

In on this, cause my SO refuses to let the 10 year olds learn to cut food, and I think it's ridiculous. We go out to eat, and they a forking a whole fucking pancake to take bites out of it.

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Yep, same situation. Seems like the earlier you teach children how to do something for themselves, the better off they are far it. I just can't see any reason to hold them back.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:04:32 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
Serious question. I don't have kids but I think 11 years old is too old to be cutting a boy's food for him into bite-size pieces. Some friends of mine do that and I asked them why they don't they let him use a knife to cut his own food and with a straight face, said he wasn't old enough to do it yet.

Isn't that something you learn to do by the time you're 5 or 6?? I don't know how he eats at school.

View Quote

Do they still wipe his ass for him?

To answer the original question, my 3-year old daughter was trying to cut her own dinner last night with her own knife. Good for her. I encourage independence.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:05:28 AM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:

That's horrible.

Does the boy not have a father?

Or are both father and mother mentally ill?

View Quote

Yep has a mother and father. The mother babies him and the father goes along with it. He's one of my oldest friends and I talked to him about treating his son like a retard....never registered with him, just said that's what his wife prefers.

And they wonder why he gets picked on in school.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:08:09 AM EDT

[#7]

Probably about 5 or 6 for a steak knife.

As soon as they can hold the utensils for the rest. (fork, butter knife, spoon, etc)

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:11:14 AM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:

Probably about 5 or 6 for a steak knife.

As soon as they can hold the utensils for the rest. (fork, butter knife, spoon, etc)

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That's what I was thinking. I remember using utensils when I was 4 with a broken collar bone. My parents let me work out how to feed myself.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:12:46 AM EDT

[#9]

I'm guessing there's no way he's ever held a .22

to be fair, I hadn't by the time I was 11 either, but i was in NJ.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:15:30 AM EDT

[#10]

I still cut my wife's steak.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:15:32 AM EDT

[#11]

Both kids started around 6.

They were also doing their own laundry at 13.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:16:18 AM EDT

[#12]

Probably 7. My youngest is almost 13 and he eats like an animal. There's no need to cut food since I'm not sure he even chews.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:18:17 AM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:

I still cut my wife's steak.

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Yeah but you get pie for your efforts.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:46:18 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Serious question. I don't have kids but I think 11 years old is too old to be cutting a boy's food for him into bite-size pieces. Some friends of mine do that and I asked them why they don't they let him use a knife to cut his own food and with a straight face, said he wasn't old enough to do it yet.

Isn't that something you learn to do by the time you're 5 or 6?? I don't know how he eats at school.

View Quote

With his hands, as Nature intended.

(kidding)

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:49:28 AM EDT

[#15]

My boy at 3.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:52:00 AM EDT

[#16]

They started helping me butcher at 4 or 5 but didnt get to do any real knife work until 9 or 10.

Posted: 8/27/2016 10:56:30 AM EDT

[#17]

Well in fairness to your friend, my boy has been shooting longer than he's been cutting his own food. We let him start using a knife at about 4, and in fact now at 6 he tends to be the only one using a knife because he's still not strong enough to cut food with the edge of his fork.

Posted: 8/27/2016 12:27:05 PM EDT

[#18]

My two-year-old can competently use a butter knife of rounded-tip steak knife. I don't let her use a pointed-tip knife because she's not old enough yet not to make sudden moves unexpectedly.

My eight-year-old had her own 3" pocket knife until she started leaving it where her younger sister could get to it.

Posted: 8/27/2016 12:37:23 PM EDT

[#19]

Three years.
My father gave my sister a steak knife at 3 to cut her own meat. Much to the chagrin of my mother. Thirty years later, and the hard-and-fast rule is, "no knives until you are 3" (only somewhat tongue in cheek)

Posted: 8/27/2016 12:44:24 PM EDT

[#20]

Quote History

Quoted:
Probably about 5 or 6 for a steak knife.

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That's what I do with my kids.

Posted: 8/27/2016 1:01:56 PM EDT

[#21]

Not strong enough to rip meat from the carcass???
What is this flat wear nonsense???

Posted: 8/27/2016 1:09:07 PM EDT

[#22]

People in general don't teach any type of table manners anymore and I hate it. I usually don't get worked up about what others choose to do but poor table manners are a pet peeve of mine. My husband is even worse than I am in that regard.

I think it was around the mid-90s when cereal commercials all showed kids eating with the spoon fisted in their hand like a damn gorilla. Our kids aren't fit to dine with the Queen of England or anything but they could absolutely hold their own in most any other situation.

They learn at around 3 HOW to cut with a knife and if their little butter knife doodads can't actually cut through the meat we'll do it for them. Around 5 or so is when they get steak knives and do it themselves although the youngest (7) still struggles a bit with her little spaghetti arms.

Posted: 8/27/2016 1:13:09 PM EDT

[#23]

I don't understand how people think their kid is ready to leave the house and go to school, but not ready to use a friggin' knife and fork. FFS.

Posted: 8/27/2016 1:24:29 PM EDT

[#24]

Ya'll ain't heard or seen nothing on this cutting up the food for offspring.

I know of a woman who cut up the food for her daughter until the daughter went off to college. This also included vegetables and meat.

To say the mom " hovered " over the kid would be a gross understatement.

But they also enjoy dipping potato chips in ketchup .

gd

Posted: 8/27/2016 8:39:16 PM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:

Yep has a mother and father. The mother babies him and the father goes along with it. He's one of my oldest friends and I talked to him about treating his son like a retard....never registered with him, just said that's what his wife prefers.

And they wonder why he gets picked on in school.

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:

That's horrible.

Does the boy not have a father?

Or are both father and mother mentally ill?

Yep has a mother and father. The mother babies him and the father goes along with it. He's one of my oldest friends and I talked to him about treating his son like a retard....never registered with him, just said that's what his wife prefers.

And they wonder why he gets picked on in school.

This explains it. Boy does not have a father. Actually, it is worse than that. He has a "father" who let's his wife's disfunctions affect his son. So he is growing up in a household where there is no mother and father balance whatsoever and he is learning that father's should do nothing to raise the kids even if the wife is nuts.