[ThanhPhero]

My goddaughter in Việt Nam at 22 months held a pencil the way an American adult holds one, at least before the schools started to teach kids to hold pencils in their fists like toddlers do. She could feed herself with chopsticks and eat soup with a spoon without spilling it, indeed I watched her transfer soup with a spoon from one bowl to another while standing on the chair and leaning over the table without spilling. She could accurately kick or throw a soft rubber ball across the room to someone and could catch it. I fear I am too old to see her education through properly but I will send the funds necessary to keep her in a good Catholic school which her parents love (they are Buddhist) because it really pushes the bright kids more than the government schools do though they do a better job than most American schools do now.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

When my kids were about seven months old, I'd put them in a high chair, cover them with a huge bib, then set a big bowl of baby cereal mixed with fruit in front of them along with a spoon. The hand would grab the spoon, the spoon would inevitably go into the mouth, and a wonderful, messy discovery was made. They were feeding themselves in no time flat. I recall people in a restaurant being very impressed that my one-year-old was eating with a fork.

Any kid can learn this way, but you've got to have the patience to put up with the mess.