Yes, definitely start him with cutlery! We used baby lead weaning so DS has been feeding himself with his hands or spoon since we started weaning at 7 months, and now uses his spoon and fork nicely and even has a go with a knife. He is 18 months old now. It makes life so much easier because you can all eat together and you can focus on your own food rather than feeding him. BTW, do you eat together? It helps if he sees what you are doing.