what to do with leftover baby food

How to Teach a Baby to Self-Feed

Watching your babies develop is a heartwarming experience. Seeing them learn to sit and crawl and eventually walk. Equally as exciting is your baby learning to feed independently, gaining confidence, displaying quirks and preferences that help you know more about your child. Though a beautiful journey, it has its ups and downs. You will discover that it is messy; your baby will play with and throw the food around. When this happens, stay calm and follow these tips on how to teach a baby to self-feed:

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Ensure that your baby is comfortable

Being comfortable and as we eat is very vital to help us enjoy the meal. You may want to get your baby a high chair that connects to the dinner table or has a table of its own. It shouldn’t be too wide that the baby may fall off yet it shouldn’t be too constricted that the baby gets irritated.

Introduce Finger foods

Most babies grasp food in their palms by fisting it. Introducing finger foods helps them develop their pincer grasp. This is the ability of the baby to use the thumb in opposition with his forefinger and the other fingers as well. It helps the baby learn hand to eye coordination. This skill is not just applicable to eating, it also helps the baby later on when they learn to write. The food you can try include:

  • Slices of fresh fruits
  • Peeled mango and orange slices
  • Steamed veggies
  • Scrambled eggs

Avoid nuts, carrots, peanuts; the baby isn’t able to digest them yet and they may cause choking.

Let the baby play!

Babies learn as they play so don’t get frustrated. Instead, gently assist the baby in learning coordination which includes knowing where his mouth is and being able to aim food into it.

Get Suitable Baby Utensils

Some babies are adamant when it gets to learning how to use forks and spoon because the utensils are difficult to grasp. This may frustrate the baby when he tries and fail and may lead to a tantrum. To curb this, make sure you have a spoon and fork with bulky handles to ease the grasping process. A good spoon and fork with great handles for babies is the Doddly set of spoon and fork. Get a bowl with suction that will not move from the baby when the baby moves it and a fruit feeder that makes it easy for the baby to eat fruits without messing up their dress.

Introduce the baby to spoons and forks

You’ll be surprised at how much you can teach your little baby! The best way to help your baby learn to use a spoon is to let the baby hold a spoon while you feed him. As you do the feeding, encourage the baby to dip his own spoon into the bowl and assist in scooping up the food. This helps the baby gain motor skills while learning to grab and use a spoon or a fork.

Once your baby has got the grip right, all that’s left is to help the baby keep the food on the spoon or fork on the way to the mouth! You can hold your baby’s hand while he does it the first few times then let him do it himself a few times.

Support Independence

Although you are guiding the baby and teaching him how to eat on his own, allow your baby to show you his or her preferences. At this crucial step, you will learn what your baby enjoys and what he dislikes. Also, do not always insist that the baby keeps eating when he stops, it may be that he is full. And knowing when to stop eating is essential for overall optimal wellness and healthy growth.

Be creative in encouraging your baby to eat

Teaching skills like grasping and coordination are all fine and dandy and the excitement of practicing them will encourage your baby to eat. However, your presentation of the meal in colourful bowls such as this construction eating set also helps. Mixing up the food and trying out natural flavors and colours will also get your baby’s interest.

Always assist your baby

It may be tempting to do some little chores while the baby eats but always remember, your baby still needs your help. You still need to supervise the baby’s grasp and ensure he doesn’t stick the spoon or fork too far into the mouth. Supervising your baby eat will also help prevent choking or act quickly if choking occurs.

Taking care of the mess

There will be a mess, you can be sure of it. Cleaning up after mealtime may become a herculean task. To reduce the mess you could try:

  • Laying out a newspaper or a plastic bag under the high chair to catch all the debris!
  • Keeping a wet cloth to wipe away the excess mess,
  • Having a lot of napkins and bibs close by,
  • Perhaps sacrificing a certain dress for meal-time.

Try getting the baby to join in at meal-time

Babies learn as they play and also through imitation. Seeing the rest of the family doing what you taught him will help him do it properly. This may also mean that you’ll eat your own meal a little later, but the sacrifice is worth it. Hold your spoon in your hand and help your baby hold his. Help the baby eat the food and then allow him to try on his own. Feel free to jump in wherever you see him getting it wrong. Offer an alternative and let him do it.

Use a cup instead!

At this point, your baby has only used a sippy cup or a straw to drink. Use this opportunity to introduce him to using a cup. It could be tedious, your baby may drop the cup and its contents at first attempts. This could make it better:

  • Only put a little water or tea in the cup to ease grip
  • Do not use a heavy cup
  • Let the baby try holding the empty cup to become familiar with how to hold it and its weight.
  • Always use a cup to show the baby the proper way to do it.

Keep practicing, be patient and consistent

Your baby will only learn life long skills and perfect those skills if you commit to practicing with him. Don’t be fazed by how long it takes to finish meal time or the amount of mess made, your consistency will determine how well your baby develops his eating skills. Be positive and bright at all times, be patient with the mess and above all, go along with your baby on this adventure.

With you at your baby’s side, encouraging teaching and assisting, things will fall into place and you will look forward to mealtime despite the mess.

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