Afro-Sheen

Hi guys, need some advice..again:
How do you get a Baby/Toddler to learn to feed himself. Both solids and from the bottle. My son is 11 months and he does not want to hold the milk bottle himself. I have tried so many times. When he was like 7-8 months, he would hold it for a bit, but now he just refuses....

Also he still doesn't even bother with feeding himself...trying. Is it too early? I boil/steam green beans, carrots...baby finger food from gerber...and put them in front of him, but he will just play with them, won't put them in mouth. He will eat when I feed him. HelP!

Ask99

I have a 4 year old who I have to feed myself and I was thinking of opening a thread asking the same question.

Rocking vibes

Be thankful, my little one fed himself everything....My rugs did not require Vaccumming !

Mamaof3

You need to figure out if your little one has an aversion to eating or if its just that they want YOU to do it for them. If its aversion to eating at all, theres something medical going on that makes eating an unpleasant experience for them - like my son who had reflux for 2 years before it was diagnosed and treated. If its just that they want you to feed them, you should be able to figure that out after 2 or 3 meals...let them do it - or not - as they choose for one full day. If they dont start showing interest then theres likely something else going on - reflux or sensory issues for example.Good luck to you both!

amelie

agree with mamaof3.

Also always offer finger foods for your child to try while feeding. i started at 7 months and would take the vegy/fruit cerel and put it on roti...bread and that was the finger food. Cheerios are fun to b/c kids like them.

Afro-Sheen

Thanks for advice, but he does not have an aversion to feed. Mashallah he eats everything I give him, from fruits/veggies to pakistani food..meaning rice.chicken etc. The problem is he won't try to eat on his own. I have to sit there and feed him with a spoon, or if its his finger foods I have to put it in hismouth & then he'll eat it. When i put the food out in front of him, he will just play with it and throw it around or just examine it and play with it! I tried that with cut up fruit, carrots, green beans, cheerios. Even the Gerber Fruit puffs. If i give it to him, he'll eat away. I also need advice on how to get him to hold his own bottle. If I give him the bottle in his hand, he'll play with it, and shake it, etc...but will only drink a little bit from it.

Afro-Sheen

I even got that Nuby feeding bottle that has handles..but they are bright colors, and he loves just playing with it, and will drink very little. same goes with the sippy cups. Before I had gotten the jazzed up ones with all sorts of things...but he played with it, now I got plane jane cups..but he will barely feed from it.

I know all babies are different...but its tough when people constantly give you advice or comments like why didnt u teach him to hold his bottle (especially family..grr).

hareem01

Don't rush and Keep eating him by yourself, he's not even 1 year old yet.

amelie

afro sheen let him play. it's fine and let him make a mess...eventually he'll get the idea. it's important not just for self feeding but hand eye coordiantion which influences effects untensil use like pens/scissors etc.

When my daughter first started self feeding one out of 20 things got in the mouth..with practice she'll get better. if you have your child sit with you when you eat always give a fiinger food for him to play with and try ...he'll get it eventually. I come from a physiotherapy background and all the child therapist really encouraged parents to let them make a mess...it's the only way they can learn. my now 17 month old is great self feeder and uses forks/spoons..she drops alot but is getting better every day it's ok.

as for thebottle...just do it. at 11 months you can switch to a sippy cup and not use the bottle and see how he does. my daughter was Breast fed till 12 months but loved having the sippy to dance around with to drink milk at 1 year....she enjoyed the freedom. Some kids prefer different sippys also try sucking it yourself i found some of them too difficult for me let alone my 1 year old!

Mamaof3

For the little guys who will eat but only if they're fed, I think I have some tips that could work...a little background - my son was averse to food because of reflux and GI issues that went undiagnosed for a long time. Long story short, he went to a very specialized hospital for pediatric feeding issues and they enrolled him in "feeding camp" which was a 6 week full-time behavioral program that taught him to eat.

The technique they used was really pretty simple. Sit the child down and explain the "rules": It is mealtime, time for you to eat. Every time you take a bite, you get a reward." Then proceed...tell the child to take a bite. When he does, make a HUGE fuss, sing songs, do a dance, shout hooray and let the child have a favorite toy for 30 seconds. Then take the toy away and say ok, time for another bite. This should continue for no more than 30 minutes and you should do this 4 to 5 times a day. The more rigidly you stick to the rules, the better the outcome will be. Good luck - this method is really worth a try, it worked miracles for my guy.