My 7 month old son loves to grab the spoon while I feed him, and I totally do not mind that he is doing this, as I want to encourage him to learn to feed himself. I'll bring the spoon to his mouth and he'll reach out a hand and grab onto the handle and I'll let him guide it into his mouth. He seems interested so I figure "why not"? I'd say about 98% of the food makes it into the mouth.
Here's my question - once he gets the spoon in his mouth he likes to chew on it. I am in no need of hurrying him along as he dines, but if I let him 'play' with the spoon in his mouth the meal could take forever (I don't think it is a good idea to get him into the habit of taking an exorbitantly long time to finish meals nor do I think I should turn mealtime into playtime). Usually I'll just gently pull the spoon out, reload, and let him guide the spoon back in.
How can I continue to allow him to feed (with some help from me) yet get him to quit wanting to chew on the spoon? Or is this something babies just do and eventually move past? Trust me, we're not losing sleep over this issue but I thought I'd ask and see what others have experienced.
This is why I love those mesh feeding bags. They can explore, chew, and eat all at the same time!! I highly recommend those!
I wouldn't worry about bad habits at this point. But we got around that by giving him one spoon to chew while I used another for feeding. Also, when you reach the finger food stage this won't be as much of an issue.
Most babies do this at this age. What I did with mine was had 2 spoons and let my daughter play and or chew on the one spoon and i feed with the other. I would just take the other spoon out of the mouth while I was feeding with the other it seemed to work and we were both happy with the outcome.
When I first started solid food with my daughter she was so curious about the whole process. After a few months she started yanking the spoon from my hand to feed herself. In response to this, I gave her a spoon of her own while i fed her with a different spoon. This allowed me to feed her in a timely manner and gave her a little independence AND yes at times she would chew on the spoon, especially if she was teething! Good luck!
This IS normal, and if you think about it makes sense. Your baby is at the age when they are teething, the cold spoon feels GOOD! I always have given my children their own spoon. If they get it all over, so what?? Most of my children have been able to successfully use a spoon by 11 months. =)
I did the same as Jen said....both my kids did this....it must feel good on their gums..? So I would either just continue to do what you are doing, or we would sometimes also give another spoon for them to play with while we fed them.
Our daughter did, and still does, sometimes chew on the spoon. We liked to use 2 spoons, one she could hold on to and one to eat with. We tended to be switching them up as she wanted to chew on the newest one. They just need something for their teeth and if you keep switching spoons, it doesn't take that long to feed them.
As the other mom's said, most babies do this. This is because at that age, their first instinct is to feel things out with their mouth. They will grow out of it and they won't think the spoon is a plaything (well until they figure out it can fling food). I have two and they both did it. With a 2 and 4 year old, we are still working on table manners!
I agree with the other moms. All three of mine did this, and youngest at 9 months is still doing it, although he's got a fork now. In fact, he's feeding himself table foods, but still likes to chew on his utensils - and believe me the meals take forever! He's the first one eating and the last one done - and the two big kids aren't quick eaters by any means :). They are learning a lot at this age, but I would say your son's a ways off from developing bad habits - that will come later :).
I think you are right on doing what you are doing!
I agree to surely give him his own spoon to "use". That way he is figuring out the spoon (with his), while still eating (with yours). It's a completely normal stage that I think ALL babies go through to some extent at this stage. :)
My son did this alot when he was just learning to use a spoon. My niece also does it, so I think it's just a normal thing they grow out of. What you're doing now, just gently taking it away, sounds like a good plan. Even if he starts crying because you took it away I'm sure he'll happy again once he's got more food :)
My kids did the same. My solution was to feed with two spoons. One for them, one for me. If they started chewing on a spoon, I would reload the other spoon. They they opened for the food. We traded spoons a lot, and sometimes they'd feed themselves. Twice the dishes, but 1/2 the frustration, I figured!
Hi A.,
Just give him a spoon of his own to hold/chew on and then feed him with your spoon. He'll take a bite, then chew on his spoon, take a bite, and so on...
