If anybody out there has some advice on toddler eating, please post some comments! It seems the whole transitional time of teaching your child to eat on his/her own is a tough one. Some kids do finger foods well before a year, and then some (like my child) will only feed himself certain things. Most unfamiliar items hit the floor in a matter of seconds. But I know of kids who have struggled to eat meat or veggies, and the rare child who doesn't like fruit. How do you work some of these needed nutrients into their diets? As they become more aware of their environment it is certainly harder to trick them into eating the things they don't want to eat.
One last question--How do you transition them to using a spoon and fork without attracting every ant in the tri-state area (from the mess of course!)? Every child is different, but if your child is eating on his own, then you've accomplished something amazing! Your help will mean a lot to me and at least a few others.
Thanks!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Ooooh Shelley, Eating is fun! I found that when Val was that age, I just kept offering him stuff over and over again and would take it away for a week and work on something else. Eventually it stuck. Also, fruit is really slimy and so sometimes I would crush up some Cheerios in a ziploc bag and made a "powder" that I could roll the fruit dices around in and they were easier to pick up. But, it is a messy process. I can't tell you how much stuff I cleaned off the table, out of the booster, and off of the wall in our apt in Minsk while he was learning.
One spoon/fork feeding tip, get a really good one for him with a good grip. I would give Val his spoon to "eat" with and he would fool around with the food and try, but I would also have a spoon that I was feeding him with so he would get some food in his belly. That way, he got to practice, and I got to make sure some got in his mouth! His favs when he first started self feeding were spaghetti (cut up of course but messy!), varenniki cut up, little bits of chicken, or I would make him pnut butter sandwiches or turkey & cheese and mash the bread down tight and then cut into little bitty bits. He really liked that! Good luck!
I'm certainly not an expert on getting a child to eat the right foods, but there are a few things we've had a lot of success with getting her to feed herself (in addition to jarred food and Cheerios). One is sweet potato fries. You can buy them in the frozen foods, and she doesn't mind the lack of crispiness when I microwave them. Similarly, she really likes tater tots. In the scheme of things, the sweet potato fries are a lot healthier than tater tots, but I figure that since most of her diet is SO low in fat and calories that it can't hurt to have a little fried food. Pasta without sauce has been a hit too, though she is scared of trying it in unfamiliar forms like spirals. Oh yeah, and she loves Claussen pickles. You can get the slices that have very little skin on them, and the juice is so clear that it doesn't really matter that they're drippy. She can just hold onto it with both hands and munch for quite a while.
We've had more success letting her feed herself with one of our small stainless salad forks than with any of the ones made specifically for babies. And the narrow spoons seems a lot easier for her to maneuver than some of the wider ones.
Yesterday, though, she TOTALLY surprised me by digging into my Lean Cuisine beans and rice dinner and finishing most of it herself. And today she actually ate all the pizza rolls I fixed her for lunch. I'm not sure what the explanation is for her suddenly trying new foods with such eagerness, but I'm really excited. Maybe it's that fourth molar finally being in. That has to make it easier. I've noticed, though, that I have to be really careful about pressuring her, or trying to feed her bites when she delays in feeding herself. She gets really frustrated with me very quickly.
Last thing. I've discovered that she hates being in one place while she eats. So a high chair is constraining and she just wants to get up. For months, I've interpreted that as meaning she doesn't want the food. But we've suddenly started eating at a little table that's her size, and she gets up and plays between bites. I think she's at an age where if she has to choose between food and playtime, food will always lose out. So for now, I'm letting her eat at her own table. It's definitely better than me chasing her around the house with a spoon, which is what I was doing prior to bringing out the little table.
Tonight I'm going to run to the store and pick up some plain ravioli. I'm hoping we might be able to continue the trend of actual meals for her. So far we've had two in a row with nothing pureed! So pray for us....it's a big step! These sorts of "victories" when it comes to food for us tend to be short lived. Like she used to love eating whole bananas like a monkey, and then one day just decided never to eat one again. Who knows!
- Sarah
I agree with Sarah about the forks and spoons. I looked forever to find simple utensils for her to use but they all seemed to light up or make noises or be really oddly shaped. Corrie seemed eager to try our forks and spoons too.
I have been using the small 'the first years' colored plastic ones. they look and feel somewhat normal.
i think feeding them is hard work! it takes a lot of patience to keep offering things and making new things AND being prepared for rejection... smile.
Post a Comment