Patient Teaching of a Toddler About Feeding and Eating
One of the greatest milestones every parent looks forward to is when a toddler learns to self-feed. For parents, this means sitting back and being able to enjoy their meals again. You know your toddler is ready to try self-feeding once they begin reaching for their bowl, spoon, or food. This usually happens from around eight months, according to Parents.
Self-feeding for toddlers is an important stage for a lot of reasons. A child learns to eat independently: a skill that will help him for life in more ways than one. Also, self-feeding helps children to develop their fine motor skills since this stage involves a lot of picking up and dropping, squeezing, and feeling. It is can be a messy process especially when the baby is learning to hold a spoon.
Self-feeding helps children to learn more about food: taste, smell, texture, and temperature. At first, it may seem like he is just playing with food, but in the process, he learns that some foods are easier to pick by hand while others require utensils to eat.
Signs Showing Your Toddler Is Ready To Try Self-Feeding
Most toddlers will show signs of wanting to feed themselves once they are introduced to solid foods. These signs include:
- Trying to grab at food placed before him.
- Pushing the caregiver's hand away while being fed.
- Reaching for the spoon or plate during mealtime.
- Bringing items to their mouth during playtime and mealtime.
Initially, toddlers will grasp the food in a raking motion using their entire fist. Eventually, they use the pincer grasp where they learn to pick food items using their thumb and forefinger. The pincer grasp lays a foundation for fine motor skills like writing.
If your toddler is showing interest in feeding herself, you can start by placing finger foods in their hand or placing it on her highchair tray. Start by placing a few pieces of food and add more as she finishes. Finger foods you can give your toddler to practice hand-feeding include:
- Small pieces of cooked fish, chicken, and turkey
- Cubes of cheese
- Soft cooked pears and apples
- Soft cooked carrots, peas, and potatoes
- Small pieces of peaches, avocados, or bananas
Be careful not to give foods that pose a risk of choking such as raisins, grapes, and nuts among others. According to Raising Children Network, children need supervision when learning self-feeding.
Teaching Your Toddler To Self-Feed With A Spoon
According to ScienceDaily, a toddler is ready to start spoon-feeding himself from 18 months. But if your child has already mastered self-feeding with his hands, you can start exposing her to utensils earlier. Toddlers require a lot of practice before they become proficient with self-feeding with a spoon.
Occupational therapists recommend handing your toddler their own spoon while you feed them. Occasionally, take their hand and dip their spoon into the food, and put it in their mouth. This practice will help them associate the spoon with eating and eventually will try to imitate the caregiver's actions while feeding.
According to ScienceDaily, research shows that toddlers spend a lot of feeding time looking at their caregiver's hand while feeding. This is where they learn the motion to spoon-feeding. Additionally, toddlers also look at their caregiver's face.
Studies suggest that they do so to check whether the caregiver is watching their behavior while they try to spoon-feed themselves. It is important to cheer on your child as he tries to spoon-feed himself to encourage doing better. Remember to have fun in the process and don't be concerned with the mess created.
Handling The Mess & Food Play
Teaching your child to self-feed will be a messy affair. Expect and embrace the mess. Playing with food will also be part of the process. You can manage the mess and food play by:
•Putting a bib on your child during mealtime.
•Placing the highchair in a location that is easy to clean. For example, place it on a tiled floor while feeding the baby to make it easy for you to clean up later.
•Cutting food into small pieces to make it easy for him to pick up and eat.
•When your child drops food, don't react. The child will mistake this as the beginning of a new game and continue to drop more food.
As your child starts to feed herself proficiently, ensure you remain by her side at all times. This will give you a chance to monitor how much she can put in her mouth and her tolerance for new textures.
Also, you need to keep an eye so that the baby does not choke. Don't be alarmed when your child gags while eating. This is expected when he starts eating solids. The gag reflex is a natural defense against choking.
Sources: raisingchildren.net, sciencedaily.com, parents.com.
Source: https://www.babygaga.com/tips-teaching-toddler-self-feed/
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