Teach your baby to eat by himself. Have you done these?

Generally, babies can learn to eat by themselves when they are almost one year old. How should mothers teach their babies to learn to eat by themselves at this stage? What should parents pay attention to when teaching their babies to eat?

When babies learn to eat by themselves, they will inevitably make a mess of the food, but this is a good opportunity for them to train their hand muscle strength and mouth-eye coordination! As long as you prepare the appropriate learning tableware, coupled with the endless patience and encouragement of parents, they can usually complete the learning smoothly!

Learn to establish "dining principles" before eating

1. It is strictly forbidden to use mobile phones or watch TV during meals to help your baby concentrate on eating.

2. Eat at a fixed time and seat. Usually, a children's dining chair is prepared to let the baby know that he should sit on the dining chair when eating.

3. Except for the main meals, do not eat any snacks between meals.

4. Let your baby get used to eating with adults. Parents should feed them while they eat or watch them eat.

5. Maintain a pleasant dining atmosphere.

Using "learning utensils"

Dining table and chairs: Children can learn to eat at a fixed seat. If the food is spilled or made dirty, it is easy for mother to clean up.

Dining table and chairs

Bibs: It is best to choose waterproof bibs with pockets to prevent food from getting on your child's clothes. (Editor's recommendation: There are so many types of baby bibs! Choose in stages and you will no longer have to worry about saliva or supplementary food getting your clothes dirty) Bibs

Large disposable napkins (used on the ground): It is easy for babies to spill food everywhere when eating, so it is safer to put a large napkin under them.

Children's bowls: Whether it is a special bowl or a general bowl, as long as it is not broken, light and easy to hold, the bowl wall and bottom are at right angles, and it is better if it has ears on both sides.

Study bowl

Spoon/fork: Please choose spoons and forks with thick and slightly curved handles. This design can reduce food spilling and help babies learn.

Learning tableware set

Learning chopsticks: Learning chopsticks are divided into left and right hands, with finger rings on them, and the contact area at the bottom of the chopsticks is larger, making it easier for babies to pick up food.

Learning chopsticks

Others: A special rag, wet wipes, or towel for eating can be used to wipe your mouth

Three stages of eating by yourself

Beginner Learning

Babies will start reaching out to explore things at around 4 months old, and after 6 months they will put whatever they grab into their mouths. At this time, mothers can take advantage of the situation and encourage their children to eat by themselves.

At the beginning, prepare some food that is easier to pick up with a fork or scoop, such as small pieces of whole wheat bread, baby biscuits, small steamed buns, small pieces of sweet potato, cut fruit, small pieces of toast, etc. Try to go from small pieces → small strips → small slices → a whole piece of toast. If they are not repulsive to all of them, you can try giving them some diced fruit.

Giving finger food at the right time can not only give children a sense of accomplishment in eating independently, but also improve their fine motor skills, chewing and swallowing abilities, and sensory integration abilities! When your baby is one year old, you can put aside baby food and let them start to eat food from the table with their hands, and gradually move on to the stage of holding a spoon.

Advanced Learning

After learning to grab food and eat by themselves, you must start training them to use tableware! Please proceed from fork/spoon → straw → chopsticks. At this stage, you should first train your baby to eat the first half by himself, and then parents will help feed him the second half. However, this should not last too long. You should train your child to finish the meal as soon as possible.

When the baby learns to use a spoon to scoop food, putting food into the mouth is another breakthrough. At this time, parents should try to watch and let the baby imitate the action of "opening the mouth to eat" as many times as possible if necessary. This is also the reason why eating by yourself is very important. On the one hand, it trains the baby's hand muscle strength, and on the other hand, it trains the coordination of eyes and mouth.

Friendly reminder: If you see your baby is impatient and wants to give up eating, parents should not immediately step forward to help feed him. Instead, observe for a while and train him to try again by himself. Only then can he learn to eat by himself faster!

Finally I can eat by myself!

Generally, after children can use the spoon smoothly, eating habits will gradually be established. Parents should continue to let their children practice and give encouragement and praise. Children can also develop self-confidence by eating independently.

According to Parenting World, eating well is also related to the development of concentration and future learning ability. If children can hold spoons and chopsticks well, their hand muscles will be more flexible and powerful, which is very helpful for learning to hold a pen in the future. Moreover, the better the children eat by themselves, the more persistent they will be in writing in the future.

Things parents should pay attention to when eating alone

1. Let your child eat by himself as early as possible. 2-4 years old is the golden period.

2. Don’t force your child to eat if he doesn’t like it. Forcing him to eat will only make him hate eating.

3. It is normal for children to eat poorly and drop food all over the floor. Don’t scold them.

4. More praise and encouragement can make children feel the love of their parents.