Help! Independant Eater

Hi
My almost 2 years old daughter is an independant eater herself and I love it even though sometimes it is too messy. I taught her how to eat by herself starting in her highchair and now she has this cute Elmo table to sit and eat. I agree sometimes they will miss but they will eat when they are hungry. As they grow, their self-feeding skill will improve and I totally believe that they enjoy their food this way more. My advice to you is sit next to him and try to improve the way he catches the spoon and directs it to his mouth. You will see the improvement very soon. Good luck.

Hi MS I am a mom of 4 and my youngest is 15 monthes. He has been self feeding for over 2 monthes now and I just give him healthy choices. I also give him a kids fork to use when he wants to but otherwise he is on his own with his hands. As long as you cover healthy carbs (rice,potatoes, whole wheat bread) protein fruits and veggies at each meal he will be fine. I smile at my son and talk to him as I clean the kitchen etc.
Enjoy!
B.

Aw it sounds so great that he's so interested in feeding himself AND using a spoon! It's really a short phase, they do learn quickly. I think it took my son prob 8 weeks to get it down right, and my daughter is just kind of naturally tidy (well, only sometimes). Now's the time to put down (if you ;haven't already) a plastic tablecloth under him, plastic clothes (har) and let him at the food! He'll only learn by practicing, and if you feel he's not getting enough, then give him some clean finger foods you know he likes (mandarin oranges, cheese, etc), and you'll find tht as he becomes more independent, so will you! It's really a good thing, though it prob does seem like a struggle now. Good luck w/ however you handle it, but toddlers do want to learn and do want to try :) GIve him the chance, with the knowledge that he's learning more, but know there will be some pretty big cleanups in this learning phase :) GOOD LUCK!

My nephew is a very healthy boy and sometimes he goes a long time where it just seems like he isn't eating much. But, the doctor said as long as he's growing and healthy, he will eat when he's hungry. Just be sure that the food that is available to him is healthy stuff. My nephew eats alot of protein....sausage, ham and chicken...and sometimes that's all he'll have for a meal. He does drink milk a lot. So, if hte dr. says he's healthy at his check ups, just let the kiddo eat when he's hungry. Force feeding him could lead to some overweight problems later on.

I am not sure if someone said this but give him a spoon to self feed and you also use a spoon to feed him. Make it a game of your turn, my turn. This may work.

My daughter is 15 months also.
I gave up and just let her feed herself. It was REALLY messy at first, but she is getting better quickly. She now gets about 90% of a YoBaby yogurt in her mouth, and now I get that time to eat myself :)
I know how hard it is to watch them make a mess because you know you will be the one to clean it up, and the last thing you need is more mess LOL
But it does get better and there is no way that he will learn without the practice.
Good luck :)

Ah yes, the independant eater! Our son is almost 18 months and has been self feeding for some time. He loves to shove his whole fist in his mouth (still). I agree with giving him a variety of health-ful foods to choose from and offer it up until he's determined he's finished.

They make spork-like toddler forks that might help him get more into his mouth. Spoons are a little tough, but if you can get something to stick to a plastic spork, he won't get hurt and will get fed.

We found having a dog really helps with clean up. ; ) That and a basket containing a large stack of cheapo wash cloths for clean up.

Enjoy this phase and grab the camera, it can make for some of the best photos!

They actually sell this spoons with long, curved handles for toddlers learning to feed themselves. I know for sure that they have them at babies r us. My friends have had success with her 1 year old learning to use it. The long curved handle helps them manipulate the spoon better without tipping all of the food out. I think they make the same thing with forks, too.
Hope that helps!
A.

Feeding a toddler is messy and gross! Let him do it. He will learn quickly enough and get the food into his mouth when hungry. He is learning to be independent, which is a good thing. Put an old sheet or towel under his chair, to help with clean up.

Congrats on making it that long! *grin* Both my older kids were 100% feeding themselves by 8-9 months! They didn't want anything to do with the spoon until around 13-15 months, though, so it was all finger-eating (trust me, >anything< can be a 'finger-food'. Once they got interested in the spoon, it got messy. However, that period only lasted for about 3-4 weeks and then they had enough practice and got decent at it. Toddlers won't starve. If he's hungry and not getting the food from the spoon, he'll use his fingers. Also remember that he'll be eating ALOT less food now than a couple months ago. At his age a serving is only a Tablespoon -- that's like 3 green beans. Don't force a child to eat - just put a healthy variety of food in front of him and he'll eat enough to stay healthy. Just keep in mind that many doctors and nutritionists say a child usually balances out the food groups over a week, instead of a day.

Hey M., I have a 15 mo old too. Messy messy messy! At first I worried about this very problem but my son got to where he ate a bit better on his own. If all the food ended up on the floor, I would offer a bit more until I noticed he was no longer eating. Now, when he is done, I ask him if he is done and he tries to climb out of the high chair to me. I don't think I would worry to much. If he is hungry, he'll let ya know. My 9 yr. old was like this too. Obviously, he survived! I would suggest making sure that you offer a wide variety of fruits and veggies. If you are still worried and just can't let it go, they do sell vitamin drops for infants. They must taste terrible cause my son made a horrible face when I use to give them to him. Good luck to you. Shannon

Hi M S ;)
I have the same issue, my daughter is 16 months and no longer wants to be fed.
I can tell you I have heard of so many women who regreted not allowing their kids to try because they weren't getting enough food OR bc of the mess and later couldn't get the child to eat on their own or touch a fork.

My only suggestion - which is what I do after seeing the yogurt dripping off the wall :)
Offer him snacks every few hours, healthy, like fruit, that is finger food so if he tries with a fork he can also do it with their hand.
If you're giving snacks you know he'll get enough nutrition.
I give my daughter fruit strips, they are by gerber I think, come in different flavors, no additives, organic fruits and its 99% fruit because she eats it with her hands, no utelsils needed.
I also have sweet potato cooked all the time as a snack, string cheese, you can find some neat stuff at different stores. I'm not very creative so I always look for alternatives as snacks that aren't "junk" I refuse to give her anything that will trigger later in life, chips, sodas, candy, in fact, when I serve dinner, she goes for veggies and fruit first always, well, let me correct that, unless there's PASTA, she loves that just like M. hehehe ;)
Amy

Let him do it himself. He will figure it out and will use his hands when he gives up on the spoon. (Yes, they can even eat things like applesauce with their hands). Spoons take practice - my son is 18 months old now and he's getting pretty good with it. Just have a clean shirt ready for him when he's finished, and stand back :) Definitely DON'T turn this into a power struggle!

I didn't have time to read all the responses so I apologize if someone already said this. Sassy makes a great feeding spoon. It is not the kind with the loop. On this one the spoon part is actually bent at almost a 90 degree angle from the handle -ergonomic. It works great. Unfortunately, I have only seen them in a set with a fork (which doesn't get a lot of use in our house). In a pinch you can also take an inexpensive spoon (one like you find at a cafeteria) and bend it. Hope this helps!

My 8 month old is an independant eater(she sees her 3 older sisters and thinks she is grown). I say let him go for it..sure it is messy, but he will figure it out soon enough. He will also eat when he is hungry, he certainly wont starve from missing a meal. Good Luck!

I'd say let him keep trying to do it himself. He knows how to get the food to his mouth with his fingers if he is really hungry and otherwise he's practicing using the spoon like M. and Daddy do, so he won't starve himself. Appetite to drop some at this age is normal anyway. It seems to go in waves. My first son LOVED silverware and still insists on silverware for things that could go either way, like he was eating an orange I had peeled for him with a spoon yesterday because he told me he needed a spoon to eat it. (He's now 3.5) But as early as 10 months, he INSISTED on having silverware to eat and he actually got really good at it quickly. He's a neat eater. My second on the other hand, is more typical with getting it in any way it will go regardless of mess (he's now 2). :) You could consiously try to do more finger foods, though my older son was doing mac & cheese, yogurt, and applesauce with a spoon with minimal spilling at 15 months and even younger because he had a lot of practice, so it can be done. It really surprised his day care teachers, but that was his thing and every kid seems to have something like that which is their thing they do well at because they love to practice it. :) Hope this helps! :)

just let him at it and make sure he gets lots of milk to fill him up. fighting about it will only make it worse.