When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

I don't know little kids at all. 6 year olds are my area of expertise!

DS is 19 months. He would rather sit in a regular chair than his high chair. We are at the point where we are thinking of putting the high chair away. He will pull out a chair from the kitchen table and climb up and sit. He will pick at his food but if you give him a real utensil, he gobbles it up. He will eat a whole yogurt by himself, put the spoon in the container and hand me the container or even throw it out by himself. He drinks from a straw cup but given the opportunity, he will drink from a real cup.

It's true when they say toddlers are sponges because he picks up on everything we do. But should we keep all of those baby things and 'force' him to use them or call it a day and start him on regular tablewear?

Re: When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

We put away the high chair when they didn't want to sit in it anymore. With my older DD it was around 3. With my littlest DD it was at 15 months. We did go into a booster at the table since she couldn't reach though.

As for utensils, we still have the kids ones in the drawers at 3.5 and 2.5 and they pick out which ones they want the kids or adult utensils to use by themselves.

As for the sippy cup we use regular cups at the table if they want but sippy cups throughout the day, just because its easier to transport and less spills for me to clean up.

Re: When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

My DD is only 6 months old, but as a psychologist who works with little kids (preschool), I would say to go with your son's independent eating skills! No need to push him toward less developed skills if he is fully capable of eating independently. You're very lucky! I would just be careful of his safety with "real" utensils, of course. I would hang on to the straw cups for when you're out and about.

Re: When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

Ds is 2.5 and still in high chair but he could easily be in a booster seat, we just havent. He drinks from straw sippy cups still, he can walk around and drink when he is thirsty, i wouldnt want him grabbing a cup and walking around. He uses kid utencils that are metal

If your dc is successful with those things there is nothing saying you cant switch him over, you have to feel comfortable with it too.

When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

Thanks for the replies! You both pretty much wrote what I was thinking, but it's nice to hear someone validate your thoughts. Each stage is totally new for us. I did find in our drawers these forks and spoons from ikea that are smaller than regular utensils but biggers than his kiddie ones. I definitely will NOT get rid of those straw cups! They are lifesavers when we are out!

When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

DS is almost 5 and still uses baby spoons for rice and peas. It's just easier. He uses regular forks for everything else. He even started cutting with a real knife (eggs/fish). For bed he likes a sippy cup of water sometimes. I'm not about to clean up a cup of water so I see no harm. Never during he day though.

Re: When did you get rid of the high chair, sippy cup, baby utensils, etc?

We stopped sippy cups at about 2 1/2 and then transitioned to a cup with a straw. By 3 my kids were only using cups or mugs and at a few months after three I started giving glass cups instead of plastic.

We got rid of the baby spoons at about 1 1/2. DD still uses the metal gerber utensils. She is slightly over 3. DS is 5 and he uses regular silverware. I have started to let him also use a regular knife and steak knife when appropriate.

We got rid of the high chair when my kids were about 2 years old.