My Turn!!

 Self-feeding is an important milestone.  Your child should be learning to use the spoon or fork by 8-10 months.  They should be self feeding AT LEAST 50% of the meal by 1 year of age.  There are a few scenarios to address if you are having difficulty with self-feeding....

1.  My child refuses to self-feed.  If your child refuses to use the spoon or fork, you need to assess the situation.  Will your child bring other food (ie: crackers, puffs, etc) to his mouth?  If the answer is yes, then  you know he/she's capable of self- feeding at this time.  My suggestion is to have your child help your hand bring the spoon to his/her mouth.  Eventually, you can put his/her hand on the spoon (with your hand further down the handle) and guide it to their mouth.

2.  My child refuses to take food from a spoon.  If this is the case, have you tried giving your child a spoon or fork and teaching them to do it by themselves?  25% of the cases I see are children who have been labeled as "picky eaters" or "refusing to take purees", but once I give them control of mealtime (give them a utensil and teach them how to use it) they begin to eat because they have a sense of accomplishment and independence.

3.  My child uses a spoon, but spills and so I just do it for him/her.  The only way to teach your child to not spill, is to let him/her practice feeding.  I always suggest forks, because they are MUCH easier (the food stays on!!).  Or, you can use a spoon with something like yogurt and just dip it instead of scooping so much onto the base of the spoon.

As with all feeding concerns, it is best to rule out bigger issues.  If your child is not self-feeding, check his/her fine motor milestones and make sure he/she is on track.  That way you will be able to tell if it is an "I don't want to" or an "I can't" situation.