How to teach a child to eat independently: useful tips

Kids at the age of 10–12 months become more active and inquisitive, learn new skills with pleasure and strive to do everything on their own, without the help of mom or dad. This period, according to child psychologists, is ideal to teach a child to use cutlery. At first, porridge will be everywhere: on the table, on the floor and even on the walls, but over time the young student will be able to tame the obstinate spoon and will please his mother with his successes.

Discoverer kit

The hands of the kids are small and weak, so they are not able to hold iron cutlery for a long time. It is better to start with light plastic spoons and forks of bright colors that will interest the child and make the feeding process more fun.Supplement the discoverer's kit with a small handy cup and a beautiful plate, painted with butterflies, flowers, animals or cars. The kid will definitely want to eat all the porridge, because under the tasty and useful layer hid a cute kitten or favorite character from the animated series about pigs.

Buy should be rubberized shallow spoon, which fits only 5-10 g of mashed potatoes, and a fork with rounded blunt tips. Children often swing tableware and use them inappropriately, risking injury or gouging their eyes. Accessories designed for feeding babies are not only comfortable and bright, but also safe.

Family dinners

Parents are advised to comment and explain their actions. For example: “Mom took a spoon to eat soup. You have one too. Come on, take it in your pen and try to eat some porridge on your own to grow as big as dad. ”

Be sure to connect to the process of all those present at the table.You can offer your child to scoop up some puree from his mother's plate or feed dad with his porridge. Let the kid spoil the table and bring to the mouth only a tenth, but he tried it, so well done.

Proper consistency

Children should enjoy the meal. You cannot force or force food into a child who resists and shrugs off "airplanes" and "trains" carrying porridge. Teaching your baby to eat alone is necessary when he gets hungry. Prepare a tasty mashed potatoes or soup, be sure to grind until smooth. It is much easier to scoop a thick paste of vegetables than macaroni or a slice of potatoes floating in a broth. A kid who fails to catch a carrot or a meatball from a soup will start to get nervous and re-learn. It's easier when mom gets tidbits and puts them just in her mouth.

Some children do not have relationships with spoons. They like forks on which you can chop macaroni or chopped banana. What should mom do? Give the kid that cutlery, which he likes, and do not worry. One day, the child gets tired of messing with a fork, and he will require a bowl of soup and a spoon.You just have to wait.

Games with food

First, children learn to scoop porridge from a bowl, and then bring the food to their mouths. A few days, weeks or months may pass between the first and second points. Baby can not be rushed. Let them build towers of buckwheat or dig tunnels in the curd mass, and so that the child does not go hungry, mothers use the “Two spoons” method.

They give one appliance to a young student, allowing him to poke around on a plate, and the second wield themselves. While the baby scoops up the soup with interest and pours it back into the bowl, the mother quickly feeds the researcher and goes about her own business.

You can not have lunch turned into a game. If a child:

• throws porridge all over the kitchen;
• throws soup in adults;
• flips the plate;
• washed with vegetable puree.

Mom should stop childish pranks and explain that at the table you need to behave culturally and not indulge. The spoon is designed for soup and porridge, it can not knock on the table or plate, throw all over the kitchen or beat the unfortunate cat. Does the child ignore the words? Is starting to drum even harder? It's time to take the spoon to the sink and send the baby to another room.Lunch is over, you will have to continue studying at dinner or breakfast.

Patience and calm

Shouts and slaps will not force the baby to hold the spoon tighter or not to scatter the porridge. Good results are given by praise and patience when the mother does not scold the spilled soup for inadvertently and is happy that the child managed to eat a piece of the omelet on her own.

In order for a baby to master cutlery faster, you can never:

1. Hurry up and customize it, because soon go for a walk or go to visit.
2. To force to eat only the right or left hand. Let them choose which side is more convenient to bring a spoon to his mouth. It is not scary if in the evening he worked with his right hand, and in the morning he decided to take the device with his left hand. Over time, the baby will be determined and make the final choice.
3. Scold or spank on the pope when food from a spoon falls on a table or a newly washed floor. In children, movements are not as precise as in adults. The kid really tries not to smudge the clothes and the tablecloth, but he does not always succeed.
4. Call the child bad when he eats little or no hunting. Parents form complexes in the baby that will eventually lead to obesity or overweight problems.

It is necessary to conduct educational conversations with all the grandparents in order, explain how to feed the child, and what cannot be done. If at home mom does not allow dipping into the hands of the soup, then at a party this behavior is unacceptable.

Guide and prompt

To teach a child to handle a spoon, give him a spatula. Plain plastic, which will be placed in the children's palm. Let him load the sand into the machine or bucket, feeds them a teddy bear. Thanks to the games, the child learns to properly hold a spatula so that it is comfortable and scoop the ground.

Spoon slightly less plastic toys, but has a similar shape. Young researchers sandbox easier to keep cutlery and type gruel from the plate. Of course, mom will have to show the basics:

• what fingers where to put;
• how the hand should move so that the porridge falls into the mouth, not into the nose or ear;
• with what force to compress the handle;
• how to scoop up mashed potatoes.

The baby, who only gets acquainted with cutlery, needs to be corrected. Hold a spoon with it and bring it to your mouth. Wipe the remains of mashed potatoes from cheeks.Give a break and gain strength when he gets tired to eat or lift heavy cutlery.

Sometimes mother wants to feed the child herself, because it’s faster and easier. Yes, adults can stuff porridge in a few minutes, but then the crumb will never learn to serve themselves at the table.

How to teach a child to eat with a spoon and keep the nerves

Walls stained with porridge. Puddles of broccoli on the floor. Piles of T-shirts and pants that need to be washed from the soup. How can a mother not go mad and lose her composure? Preparing to feed the baby in advance.

1. Lay on the floor oilcloth or put a few newspapers.
2. If the house is warm, undress the baby to the diapers or completely. It is much easier to clean the porridge crumbs than to remove the spots of juice or squash puree.
3. Does the kid stain the hair? Will save the cap, which is not necessarily carefully wash. It is enough to sweep the remnants of food, and then rinse under a tap.
4. Buy plates on suckers. The kid will not be able to move the bowl from the place, it will be more convenient for him to scoop the soup, which means that less food will be on the floor.
5. Do not allow your child to walk around the apartment with a spoon or a plate.You need to eat only in the kitchen, sitting at the table, like parents. Want to go to the gym? He put the bowl down, put down the spoon, rinsed his hands and face, and then went about his business.
6. No cartoons. The crumb must concentrate on the spoon. First eat, and then watch TV or play cars.

The child can rest and arrange scenes, try to manipulate parents, but it is important not to give in. Refusing to eat until they turn on the cartoons? Nothing, hungry and he will ask for porridge. He takes the soup with his hands and smears it in the face? The baby is fed and starts messing around. You need to pick up the plate, wash and send to play.

Kids learn to eat independently for weeks and months. No need to rush. Let them experiment, try, make mistakes. The task of the mother is to stand by and help. To guide and prompt, praise and rejoice in small successes. When a child feels that he is supported and loved, he will definitely do everything right and learn how to eat on his own faster than his peers.

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