Did you know teaching your infant to be a self-feeder is as easy as 1-2-3?
While we know it may seem like a daunting task with a whole lot of mess… We also know it is vital skill to teach them as soon as they start to show a spark of interest. You may be wondering, “how do I know if my infant is ready?” Like we said, its as easy as 1-2-3!
1. Interest: It is around 8 months when an infant will initially start to show a desire to begin self-feeding. It is during this time period that it is essential to give your baby the opportunity to begin to develop the necessary fine motor skills that aid in self-feeding. During this initial stage of self-feeding, it will primarily be with the baby’s hands. At first, baby will use their whole hand to rake their food, but they will soon learn to use multiple fingers, which then evolves into the pincer grasp that later benefits other fine motor skills like writing.
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Introducing a spoon: Following the initial stage of self-feeding with basic finger foods, is when a spoon can start to be integrated into eating. Introducing a spoon typically occurs after baby has showed competence in finger feeding and usually before they turn 2 years old. It should be noted that most babies could learn to independently eat with a spoon well before 2 years old if given the opportunity. A large part of a baby learning to properly eat with a spoon is by example. As a parent, make sure to show baby how eating with a spoon works. You can do this by guiding their hands through the different steps. For example, start by having baby grab the spoon, proceed by gathering food on the spoon from a bowl, and finally bring the spoon with food up to the mouth. By guiding your baby through these basic steps, it will encourage them learn that a spoon is associated with
While we know it may seem like a daunting task with a whole lot of mess… We also know it is vital skill to teach them as soon as they start to show a spark of interest. You may be wondering, “how do I know if my infant is ready?” Like we said, its as easy as 1-2-3!
1. Interest: It is around 8 months when an infant will initially start to show a desire to begin self-feeding. It is during this time period that it is essential to give your baby the opportunity to begin to develop the necessary fine motor skills that aid in self-feeding. During this initial stage of self-feeding, it will primarily be with the baby’s hands. At first, baby will use their whole hand to rake their food, but they will soon learn to use multiple fingers, which then evolves into the pincer grasp that later benefits other fine motor skills like writing.
2. …show more content…
Introducing a spoon: Following the initial stage of self-feeding with basic finger foods, is when a spoon can start to be integrated into eating. Introducing a spoon typically occurs after baby has showed competence in finger feeding and usually before they turn 2 years old. It should be noted that most babies could learn to independently eat with a spoon well before 2 years old if given the opportunity. A large part of a baby learning to properly eat with a spoon is by example. As a parent, make sure to show baby how eating with a spoon works. You can do this by guiding their hands through the different steps. For example, start by having baby grab the spoon, proceed by gathering food on the spoon from a bowl, and finally bring the spoon with food up to the mouth. By guiding your baby through these basic steps, it will encourage them learn that a spoon is associated with