Help on Feeding

She'll eat when she's hungry. My kids were put in the highchair and food was put on it. I am assuming they ate it because they are still alive and now I can't keep enough food in them. Also she may start the "I don't want that", my kids eat what they are served if not breakfast comes soon enough and they won't starve.
Meal times will be messy and she may need a bath soon after. My kids had a spoon in their hands as soon as they could grasp it.
Good luck to you.

Give her the drink after the meal.
It's OK if she throws stuff on the floor, just don't pick it up and give it back to her. Pretend you don't notice it.
I used to put an old shower curtain on the kitchen floor, put the highchair in the center of it, put a large plastic bib with long sleeves on the baby, and then plop scoopfuls of pureed whatever-we-were-eating food on the highchair tray. I left it up to each baby to transfer the food into his or her mouth.
I kept a distant eye on them when they were eating/smearing/playing with the food. My first child aspirated when she was 6 months old and I had to Heimlich her. My babies were on their own getting food into them.
After the meals, the dog usually lapped up the contents of the shower curtain while I hosed off the child in the kitchen sink. I took the highchair outside and hosed that off once a week.
I was never able to tell the pediatrician exactly how much they ate, but they gained weight.
Good luck!

She shouldn't be able to self-feed with a spoon yet, that won't come until around 2yrs. But she should be able to self-feed fingerfoods. Both my boys were/are on a see-food diet (they see it they eat) so self feeding was not a problem for me. My baby just turned 1yr 2 weeks ago and he's been self feeding finger foods completely for a month or two. (He eats snacks, small chunks of fruit, veggies, and meat.) Your problem is probably noth that she can't but that she won't. Keep trying and eventually she'll get hungry enough to do it.

Hey V.,
I wouldn't worrry about it too much. My Son is two-years old and wasn't really self-feeding well until about 14 months. Just keep eating in front of her, and she will eventually figure it out. You can also leave a snack on a table close to where she plays, and she may see it , and try to put in her mouth. When she does, you can tell her what a good job she did. She just needs some more time to get the hang of it, and then after that when she sees you eating at dinner with forks and spoon she will want to do it too. Thats how my son was.
Hope This Helps.
J.

This really is not something to worry about. Children develop at different rates and in different areas. Self-feeding at 13 months is more of a convenience for a busy mom, so don't let it bother you that she isn't. She may be still wanting that one-on-one interaction with you. (They do have your undivided attention when you are feeding them.) Often when we put food down for them to self-feed, we go on about other business and she may be responding to the lack of interaction more than the lack of desire to self-feed.

Keep offering small bits and bites, but do it with your full attention for a while and see if it makes a difference. If she is totally resistant, give it a few days or a week and try again.

This may be a scary thought but just give her the spoon and see what happens.

Hi V.,

I would say to give it more time. I know that it can be fustrating but she will get it. Also, as she gets older have her start picing up the pieces of food she has thrown and soon she would not like that and will stop.

Good Luck,
R.

Hi V.,
Your daughter should be interested in trying to feed herself by now, however do know that children learn at different ages and different stages in life. As for the snacks or finger foods, sometimes you may have to try the airplane games. Put some laughter in her snack time, even if that means flying a few pieces in your mouth, then flying a few pieces in her mouth. Maybe even ask her to fly a few pieces in your mouth. It's worth a try.

I don't want you to feel bad or look to the past b/c that will never help you. So for the future, just try and help her to be more independent.
My 13 month old is picking up all her food on her own, she rarely lets me give her food. I have had her doing this for quite some time now too. I have tried the approach of setting back and letting her be active in her developement. It is tough b/c it is way easier to just help them along... but only for the short run not long run. If she is throwing food I say she completely needs some kind of consequence. They start testing us before age one. We have to be ready now or else you will be one of those moms with an out of control 3 or 4 year old that has rarely heard no and when they have it wasn't reinforced consistently.
Blessings and patience be at your side,
Amanda

This is an early test of the wills, and you can't afford to let her "win". The simplest solution is to STOP feeding her snacks to her. Let her learn to put them into her own mouth or do without the snack. She'll throw her tantrums for a while, but eventually she will start to feed herself. Keep offering good finger foods (cheerios, fruit snacks, crackers, etc.) but do not put them into her mouth for her. If they end up on the floor instead of in her tummy it's not the end of the world. She won't go hungry long. Her natural instincts will kick in and she will eat. Evidentally she already knows what it will take to make you do what she wants and she's challenging you.
Try a different approach. You could offer her snacks at a low table and allow her to come and go as she pleases while having them. I wouldn't do this for her meals, but this is a great way for her to learn that she has freedoms when she's feeding herself. Most adults don't sit in one place when snacking, so it won't hurt her to be able to roam a bit too.
There are lots of ways she's going to challenge your will vs. hers. Learn now how to recognize the challenges and face them from the start. Not only does this teach her independence,it also teaches her to respect you and her dad. Be ready for the tears though. They're coming, and they won't all be hers. It takes strength to be a mommy.
Good luck and God Bless!

L. C.

P.S.
A great website for encouragement for moms and dads is www.focusonthefamily.org with Dr. James Dobson. You'll find lots of great information on parenting there.

I think that your child is normal. I didn't allow mine to feed herself totally until ....... well she is 27 months and still is not totally dependant.
At 13 months I would let her have the spoon but I also had a spoon that I would feed her with too. If she chose to do it on her own that was fine... that is how she was to learn. As she got older, she learned but she is still not perfectly skilled and I still feed her when she seems to have too much going on around her than to worry about feeding herself. She is 27 months old and she still throws things on the floor.
I think that is normal for a baby and feeding them and picking up the stuff they throw on the floor whether it is food or toys or paper, that is something that you are going to do for the next 20 yrs. I also have a 22, 19 and a 17 yr old and it gets worse as they get older... TRUST ME!
Just be patient and give your baby a spoon and you take one too. She will learn by watching you and how you feed her and yourself. Just let her take her time and experiment with it and she will eventually get the hang of it but like I said, my 27 yr old still isn't perfect at it. So give it time and be patient. She is normal and you are normal and things are going like they are supposed to go.

let her have a spoon.
Why not if it encourages her to self feed.

buy a $3 shower liner to put on the floor. You will be experiencing a rainfall of food for the next two or three years!

you WILL get through it!