I have to keep stopping my Dad from turning Tink upside down and slapping her on the back! She's been doing BLW for three months and I semi live with my parents, you'd think they'd be used to it by now! How about: If you don't feed them with a spoon they will never learn to use one or You lose that closeness you get when you feed them yourself ? I've started to leave a spoon for Tink on her tray (plates go on the floor, so food is tipped onto her tray to save too much mess) and she is starting to take interest in it, the wrong end has even ended up in her mouth a couple of times! As for the closeness, we eat together and she can turn anything into a game, hiding food on her lap or distracting (she thinks) me while she drops food and me catching it all. She's constantly laughing and I really enjoy meal times with her. I have to say though, I don't get that much mess from her, she eats loads and is very efficient. Weetabix was messy for a while, but she has learnt to get around that.