Will eating in the high chair always be like this?
Starting in a few days, I wanted to begin teaching my 20 month old daughter to feed herself more regularly in her high chair.
Since she was a baby, I've been feeding her while she sits in my lap and watches "Yo Gabba Gabba" because she is so mesmerized by this show that she'll actually sit still and let me feed her. If not, she won't eat anything it seems like, especially not in her high chair...she hates being in there. But if I can think of any habit that could just be detrimental down the road, it's eating while watching TV. I've had that bad habit since I was a child and it's been very detrimental to me. I don't want that for her.
Now, she has been feeding herself finger foods etc. for a very long time now. But my question is...is she too young to start learning to use a spoon and fork? She seems interested because she's always picking up our silverware and trying to feed us with them (so cute). But if you put her around a little bowl or a plate, all she wants to do is throw it and play with it. Is that just what babies do? Is this just all part of teaching them to sit and feed themselves?
Anyway, could some of you seasoned moms out there give me some advice on when, where, and how to start letting my baby feed herself? I need some tips.
I don't think it's ever too early to let them try and feed themselves. Elaina took forever and I got sick of cleaning the mess up to be honest. So I kept feeding her myself for a long time. Jack, on the other hand, is starting to feed himself using a spoon and he does a good job, but It can get very messy.. . as you know. I also wonder how much actually makes it to his belly. After cleaning the floor and then taking him out of the highchair and seeing gobs more in the seat I start to wonder. :) Good Luck! Oh one more thing, I started with laying the food out on the tray and giving Jack a spoon so he could experiment on his own. I tried giving him a bowl and he threw it to the floor. So I'm sicking with food on tray and spoon. A lot of times he holds the spoon in one hand while eating with the other. It's cute and he's learning something. . . I'm not sure what :) but I'll keep telling myself that. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy son is 2 1/2 and I let him feed himself some things, but not everything. I know I should, but I am trying to avoid a mess. I am going to just have to suck it up and let him do it. Happy New Year to you!
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