Encouraging your babies to eat on their own has several advantages. When your newborn feed themselves by touching, grabbing, spooning, squeezing, and, of course, dropping food, their fine motor skills are developed.
Self-feeding also improves sensory skills by investigating the taste, texture, smell, color, and food temperature. Furthermore, when a toddler controls his food intake, he learns to recognize natural hunger signals and stop eating when he’s satisfied—a crucial life skill.
When your newborn starts to sit up consistently, introduce finger foods to the. As your child enters toddlerhood, the “I do it myself” period, you may capitalize on his or her independence by encouraging even more self-feeding. And as he/she grows up, give him/her a child booster seat for table to let it with everyone.
Here are few ways to promote self-eating.
- Get the ball rolling.
When you start bringing your kid to the table, make sure to remove all the dangerous staff for a hungry child. A high chair or the best booster seat for table that you can bring right up to the table should be included in your arrangement. Use raised-side plates and bowls to make it less probable for food to spill.
- Establish a regular meals schedule.
Create a regular mealtime plan that fits your family’s schedule. Aim for three meals a day, including a morning and afternoon snack, at around the same time each day. Attempt to space snacks out so that you don’t overfeed your child at mealtime.
- Make sure you’re serving the right foods.
Around 9 months, babies may begin to self-feed. However, it’s essential to provide proper food. Cooked squash, banana pieces, low-sugar puffed cereal, and soft cheese cubes are fantastic options as child food. Introduce new meals one at a time to give your child’s diet more diversity.
- Make family meals a priority.
Mealtimes are an opportunity for you to connect with your kid and assist them in learning. While it may be tempting to multitask while your kid is “busy” with a meal, don’t just put food in front of him and walk away to check your email or fold your clothes.
It will provide the wrong message for your child. Just witnessing you and the rest of the family go through the motions of eating encourages imitation.
- Be forgiving of the chaos.
Things will get dirty, so stock up on bibs and have a wet towel handy for easy cleanups. If you’re concerned about stains on your baby’s clothes, try stripping him or her down to only a diaper.
And don’t forget to keep your cordless hand vacuum charged; you’ll need it. But keep in mind that, as inconvenient as scraping dry oatmeal off the wall, maybe, it’s all in the interest of your child’s growth.
To avoid an unintentional fall from a highchair and to limit the danger of choking, keep a constant check on your kid while he/she is eating or drinking.
