Baby first steps video. Useful tips and tricks for teaching the child to walk.

04.07.2018

All children, even peers, develop in different ways: one baby will start walking to 9-10 months of life, and the other - to the year. Some children, even in a little over a year, are afraid to let go of her mother's hand and go without support. How to teach a child to walk?

Today I will tell you how to prepare your baby for the first steps, develop independence and interest in walking without outside intervention.

Preparatory stage

Very much in the development of a newborn depends on what is laid in the first months of his life. Therefore, long before teaching a child to walk independently, prepare the child’s body for further exertion.

A kid who moves a lot, shows persistence in his movements and behaves actively during the day, will begin to walk faster than his lazy and phlegmatic peers.

There are very simple procedures, the daily implementation of which will accelerate physical development:

Laying on the belly. From the first weeks of life, this is not worth it, but when the child learns to roll over on his stomach, encourage him to spend as much time as possible. So he will strengthen the muscles of the neck and back;

“Freaks” is an exercise that is easy to perform during regime moments, for example, during a change of T-shirts or diapers. From the age of two months, the child attempts to turn and. As a result, the muscles of the back, neck, legs and arms develop. Encourage coups, try to turn these exercises into a fun game.
Active movements: starting from 4 months, the baby tries to sit down with the help of parents, by 8-9 months he is already. So that he will not be long in one place, ask him to reach the toy, crawl up to it - so he will have an incentive to walk.
Walking together is great! Half-year old children love to crawl, any object that attracts attention, makes the baby try to get it. Parents who encourage motor skills help the child develop new spaces. And this, in turn, stimulates the baby to train faster movement options, such as walking.
Strong muscles - proper walking. In order for the legs to confidently hold their master, the baby must thoroughly learn how to bend and unbend his knees, bounce with the help of his parents.

Top-top, stomping baby ...

The child is already beginning to show independence, moving with the help of support? He can, holding the furniture, walk from one end to the other?

During this period, many parents come up with ways to teach a child to walk so that he can run on his own in a little over a year.

First of all, the baby should feel the support of adults. For example, you can take him by the hand and go together: see how the cat washes, as seen from the window, who returned home after work.

The boys will be happy to walk and push the tolocar in the form of a car in front of them, and the girls will be a doll stroller, for which it is convenient to grasp, walk and roll forward. When a child is 11-12 months old, the question of how to teach to walk may not be as relevant anymore.

If there are still walkers in the house, you need to remove them so that the baby will forget what it is. The phase of active walking should take place in a natural way, and not limited to the seat and bumper walker.

Walkers are a very controversial device. In my opinion, from this device more harm than good: in them, the baby can not properly sit and walk, he constantly shifts the center of gravity, leaning on the walker.

Remember that the more you encourage a child to walk, the faster he will learn it. You can sit on his knees a few steps away and ask him to walk to his mother's arms. Children love such “hikes” very much, the consolidation of walking skills and cheerful laughter will surely be guaranteed.

Choosing shoes

Little runners need the right "boots". The choice of shoes must be taken very seriously, because how quickly the child feels in the shoes depends on how quickly he starts and how he will walk. Baby shoes should be worn with pleasure, and therefore, you should pay attention to the following points:

size (no need to buy shoes for growth);
heel height (should not be low);
a sole (elastic, with an instep support);
a fastener (best of all "flypapers" - it is more convenient to use them).

The shoes themselves should be chosen together with the child so that he can walk in it, and you can see if the model is comfortable, how well it is sitting on the foot, and whether there are red spots on the leg. For children with orthopedic problems, doctors prescribe special medical or prophylactic shoes; attention should also be paid to this point.

It is useful for a baby to walk at home barefoot, it is stop-therapy and hardening “in one bottle”. Now extremely popular are the rugs with different bulges that massage and at the same time strengthen the legs: teach your child to walk on them.

If you are afraid that barefoot crumbs can catch a cold, then you can put on socks with a special sole, it has a rubberized pattern and prevents slipping on the floor covering.

Important! If a child is registered with an orthopedist due to improper placement of feet, walking in special shoes, even at home, can be prescribed. In this case, you need to consult with a specialist.

Psychological attitude of parents

Psychological overtones of the illuminated problem are very important, because often parents start to sound the alarm, look for a five thousandth way how to teach a child to walk, what Komarovsky says on this topic and in general why their child is not as smart as everyone. There are a few tips to overcome the “fussy parent” syndrome:

My baby is an individual. Understand that your Peter and the neighbor Mitya are different people. Read more in the article, “?” If Mitya rushed like mad from 10 months, and Peter uncertainly and holding his mother’s hand went into the year - this is not a reason for panic. Just the time has not come yet. Find out what to do if \u003e\u003e\u003e.
If the baby often stumbles, falls and does not want to let go of the father’s hand for a walk, except for the orthopedist and the neurologist, you can consult with an optometrist. Sometimes a crumb cannot walk on its own due to vision problems;
Constantly causing the child’s interest in walking, showing one’s own example is one of effective wayshow to teach a child to walk without support. It is easy to carry children away with something interesting, so just turn on imagination and ingenuity ..

How to teach your baby to walk and what shoes you need to choose, see the video:

Fix bugs

It so happens that parents, not having figured out how to quickly teach a child to walk, come up with their own methods and make mistakes. Naturally, some blunders do not help, but make it difficult for a child to master the art of walking. Below is the rating of the most common parental error actions that should not be repeated:

The use of walkers and jumpers. About the first has already been said a lot above. If briefly - refuse to use them while the crumb learns to walk, or replace them with machines that can be pushed or play centers with a cognitive resource;
Parents should not put their babies on their feet too early in an attempt to teach walking. The kid will do it on his own when his muscles and bones get stronger. If you artificially speed up this process, you can contribute to the development of flat-footedness and disorders in the development of the spine;
In addition, the toddler should not “stand up” for too long near the support - he needs to learn to squat, otherwise the foot may be deformed by stretching the ligaments;
Poor quality shoes - a serious blunder for parents. Children’s shoes, especially small ones, cannot be saved in any way. Only high-quality orthopedic shoes help the musculoskeletal system to develop properly and encourages the baby to walk, making this process enjoyable;
Hyper-pharmacy cannot promote autonomy in any way, and mother’s nervous shouts: “be careful, you will fall!” Are unlikely to give a tiny bit of confidence. The wider the horizons for travel, the better, and my mother's hand should just be support and safety net.

As a rule, reasonable parents who avoid such mistakes know how to teach a child to walk, this is clearly demonstrated on numerous videos on the net. They are depicted kids who are happy to stomp for mom, push a doll carriage in front of him and dance to their favorite music.

All parents are looking forward to their first smile, first word, first tooth, and of course, the first step from their karapuz. For the year, the baby from a tiny blind lump turns into a little man. Many changes happen to him and the main assistants on the way to adulthood are parents. In order for the child to take his first step, his musculoskeletal system must grow stronger, and the mother must make sure that this step is not too early. The delay in starting walking also speaks of any deviations from the norm. In this article, let's talk about how to teach a child to walk? It does not harm the development and health of the toddler.

When can I teach a child to walk?

Before teaching a child to walk, you should make sure that your back is strong. The best training of the spinal muscles and the entire musculoskeletal system is active crawling, as well as independent sitting. There are exceptions, when the toddler begins to walk without crawling, but this is not always good. By 9–10 months, most children are already crawling and trying to stand on their feet. But these are not strict norms, because everything depends on individual features. The first attempts to stand on their own occur near the support, after - the hands release it, then - the first small step with sticking follows and in the final - the baby goes through the legs without support. What time does this happen?

It is also difficult for the specialists to answer, since many factors affect walking skills, but the framework of conditional norms exist and they show what is normal. developing baby without deviations, must learn to walk from 9 months to 1 year and 3 months.

How to recognize that it is still early?

Sometimes "nimble" little tops climb their feet at 7 months, and after a short period of time, they walk on their own. Many argue that if you went yourself, then everything is in order, but pediatricians say that walking earlier harms the spine. Of course, to force the toddler not to walk, you will not be able, but you should not encourage his actions either. Try, so that the child, who began to walk early, 9 months is too early, was as little as possible on his feet, and crawled more. In cases of early walking, keep a close eye on the crumbs:

if he is actively developing, does not lag behind his peers, does not reveal signs of fatigue or possible pain in the back, legs, then enjoy the first steps of the child;
if you notice any abnormalities or manifestations of pathologies, run to the doctor.

How to know that the baby is late with the first step?

Immediately you should make a reservation that premature babies always start walking, much later full-term. Terms for such kids are shifted to six months and the first step closer to two years is the norm. About the development of premature babies in more detail in the article:. As for standard development, a year and a half for the first step is a bit late.

Why does this happen?

Quite often, the reason lies in neurological or physiological disorders. As soon as the child gets on his feet, pay attention to:

feet, as they are formed;
how crooked legs;
how he puts the legs (socks apart or inside);
whether or not.

If there are such symptoms, be sure to show it to the orthopedist and the neurologist. But do not immediately panic, as the delay of the skill can affect:

genetic predisposition, if mom or dad started walking late, then you should not expect an early hike from the baby;
overweight does not allow the toddler to keep his body on his feet;
temperament, phlegmatic children with slow manners always start walking later;
lack of vitamin D (rickets), it affects the child's musculoskeletal system. How to recognize rachitis in time, read the article:;
bad experience of first walking, quite often become a reason to fear to go again. In such cases, young parents are simply obliged to teach the child to walk.

How to teach a child to walk? Preparatory stage

In order to teach a child to walk, you need to develop muscles ahead of time. After all, the development of the musculoskeletal system is laid in the first months of life. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the body of the newborn for future loads, long before you begin to teach the child to walk. The preparatory stage of development consists of simple procedures, performing which you can accelerate physical development:

Starting at two months of age, encourage baby to try to roll over to one side. Such movements contribute to the development of muscles on the back, arms, legs, neck. Teach, you can do this with the help of toys. Initially, hold the toy over the baby, then lay it on the bed. An infant, interested, will turn behind her.
Put the newborn on the belly. Actively apply this method when the toddler learns to roll over. This lying strengthens the neck and back muscles. In addition, do not forget about the massage, how to do it, find out from the article:.
Before the babe tries to sit down, teach him to pull up. To do this, let the handles grab your index fingers. Then pull up the baby as if sitting down. Such exercises can be carried out in 4–5 months before bathing.
In order to stimulate to action, and to teach the child to walk, after he learns to sit by himself, offer him to get the toy by stretching. Also offer to crawl to her. Come up with tasks for the child, so that he was not long in one place.
To teach a child to walk, they must have sturdy legs, so hold a lesson in flexion and extension of the knees. This should be done through gymnastics, as well as jumping with your help (holding his armpits).

How to teach a child to walk? What will contribute to the development of skill?

Initially, you should make sure that the baby is ready to take his first step. The main indicators of readiness are such actions on his part:

can get up from your knees;
worth pretty
moves, holding the support.

Teaching to walk means creating optimal conditions for skill development.

What and how to walk?

If you have a floor in the apartment in the form of parquet, linoleum or tile, then it is better to cover it with a carpet. Since the crumb, making the first uncertain steps, will slip on such a floor. On the carpet, the legs do not slip, and the child will stay more confident. As an option, you can buy socks with a rubberized sole.
Any peanut feels more confident barefoot, so hurry and shoe it is not worth it. Teaching to walk in shoes is much harder than barefoot. Therefore, if it is summer outside and there is an opportunity to go out into the yard barefoot, use it boldly, since besides the first walking skills, barefoot walks strengthen the feet and serve as prevention of flat feet, which you can read about in the article:.

Choosing the first shoes

From the first shoe depends on how quickly the baby wakes up to develop the skill of walking. You must agree, in uncomfortable shoes you hardly want to walk for a long time. Therefore, the first shoe should meet the following criteria:

size in size, the leg should not hang out;
stiff heel and high heel;
the presence of the instep, since it is he who mechanically forms the arch of the foot in childhood;
natural materials so that the leg does not soar and does not cause allergic reactions. About the possible symptoms of allergic reactions, you can read in the article:.

It is best to buy not by eye, but only trying it on. The baby should walk in a new dress, and young parents need to check if there are any red marks on the skin of the feet.

Clearing space for "maneuvers"

To teach you to walk you need a space in which the little tot can move without hindrance without holding on. To do this, remove the bulky and underutilized things from the room where the toddler spends time. Give space for the first "maneuvers." After the baby goes, try to clear the area for "maneuvers" throughout the apartment, as it will not be limited to one room.

We take the first step. How to teach a child to walk without support?

After the toddler got up on his feet and tries to move with support from one edge of the sofa to another, you can try to teach him to walk on his own. The main condition for an independent campaign is to feel the support of the parents. Practice walking around the house more often. Offer to go and see what dad / mom does, who hid in the next room, etc.

You can teach to walk by supporting the child's armpit, moving forward with it. Over time, the hands completely loosen, and the crumb will move itself, and a little later in the employment of moving the legs, it will not notice how you completely remove your hands.

Use toys that the child can push. It can be a tolokar, a doll stroller, a car, etc. The main thing is that it is convenient to grab and roll such a toy.

Distract the attention of the toddler when he walks off the pedestal. Offer him a toy or talk to him. Very often, distracted, the kids let off the support, continuing to move independently.

Keep a close eye on the child, because his little steps are still completely imperfect, and he can fall, and the first failures with severe bruises, can for a long time discourage trying to walk on his own.

Call the child to yourself at a distance, causing him to release the support and take a step on his own.

What should not be done if you want to teach your child to walk on their own?

Quite often, in an unbridled desire to teach, young parents make mistakes. What can not be done and what mistakes should not be allowed during the training of his child.

Do not rush, because putting the baby on his feet in 6-7 months, the risk of disrupting the musculoskeletal system of the baby and earn him scoliosis. Nature so arranged that when the muscles of the toddler are ready he will rise himself.
Discard the walker. If you want to teach your child to walk faster, then the walkers are not helpers. With their help, the baby only pushes with its feet, bouncing, and at the same time it does not acquire the skill of movement and keeping balance. Experts say that a long walk in a walker (more than 3 months) can lead to deformation of the feet.
Too much care and help to walk, also not worth it. He should try and find out everything himself. After all, no child has yet learned to walk without falling and cones. The task of parents to make the fall more secure, and hell to what.
Inconvenient or incorrectly selected first shoes. Indoors let the peanut run barefoot, but going outside you need good shoes. About her criteria have already been written above. Do not save on the first shoe of the baby, and you can easily teach him to walk.

When asked how to teach a child to walk, remember: the more you encourage the little one to go hiking, the stronger their desire to learn to walk.

Publication author: Nikita Rybakov

Teaching a child to eat food is not so difficult. To do this, follow a few rules.

1. Proper preparation.

To learn to eat by yourself, the baby needs to love to eat at all. The child must have an interest in eating by the time he is able to learn to hold a spoon. If you feed a six-month baby under performances, cartoons or with threats, then he is unlikely to want to eat on his own. There is only one way to get the child interested in eating - the presence of the whole family at the table. This should be done from early childhood, and this applies especially to children who eat mother's milk.

To make the first attempts to eat on your own, allow the baby to use the spoon when introducing the first complementary foods, and also allow him to take the food suitable for him from your plate. And most importantly - do not force to eat. Specialists have already proved that food abuse has a negative effect on the psyche of the baby and on its digestive system. Remember that you and how you use a spoon and fork - the main example for a child.

2. Do not hurry.

Many parents constantly rush the child: "Eat faster," "Let's swallow," "Don't be distracted." It seems to them that the process of eating food takes too long. But for a baby, food is not just a hunger hunger. This is a pleasure, and a game, and communication with mom. Children who are in a hurry learn to chew and use cutlery for a long time. Give your child time, praise and cheer him.
Often the rush of parents caused by the preparation for the nursery. Do not worry about this. The child will quickly learn to eat independently in the community of his peers.

3. Consider individuality.

Always remember that each child is individual, therefore the schedule of its development is also individual. In the literature they write that a child should be able to hold a spoon and scoop food with her by the year, and eat by herself by one and a half years But almost everything is different. Some first try to feed their parents, some grab a spoon for 7 months, some up to 2.5-3 years old want to be fed. Do not worry about this and put the baby in the frame. In due time, he will definitely learn to eat by himself.

4. Catch the moment.

It is very important not to miss the moment when the child begins to show interest in the spoon. Trying to quickly feed the baby, you can not notice it. As soon as you see that the baby wants to copy your movements, immediately give him the desired tool - a spoon, and give the opportunity to train. Then, by the age of 1.5, the child will be able to eat porridge, soup, or curds by himself.

5. Help.

It happens that a child cannot master a spoon only by the example of parents. Then help him: Take a pen with a spoon in your hand and bring it to your mouth. When you see it start to work, loosen your hand.

6. Practice.

For example, in the sandbox. Children, having mastered the game with a spatula, learn to handle a spoon more quickly. After all, these processes are similar. It also helps a game of feeding toys or mothers.

7. Stay near.

Do not leave the baby alone with a full plate. Perhaps he will need your help (in case he gets scared of food spilled on himself, or chokes), or because of tiredness of his own powerlessness to cope with the food, he begins to be capricious. This will not be a good helper for you. In this case, you need to feed the baby. Parents with experience eat "in two spoons." One child eats himself, to the best of his ability, the other mother feeds him.

8. Cook the porridge.

An important factor in the development of a spoon is the consistency of the dish. It should be easily scooped and not very liquid, so as not to spill. With this task, porridge, cream soup, vegetable puree, cottage cheese. To keep food cool, place small portions in a plate, and add as needed.
Food slices are not well suited for this task, as it can be taken just by hand.

9. Give a choice.

Sometimes it is easier for children to eat with a fork, not a spoon. Suggest the child to try to be controlled with both. The plug should have rounded edges and blunt teeth, best buy a special baby fork. In this version, the contents of the plate also change. Slice boiled vegetables (carrots, potatoes, broccoli).

10. Be patient.

Patience is the first thing parents need to stock up on. It will not be superfluous to prepare a special place for eating, cover the floor with oilcloth and be ready to re-paste the wallpaper when the kid learns to eat on his own. The number of washes will also increase. Those parents whose self-study education falls on a warm season are lucky. In this case, the child can be stripped to the panties, and then just rinse under the shower.

11. Interest.

If the food in the plate does not cause interest in the baby, there are 2 possible solutions:

Decorate the dish itself. Make food funny faces, flowers, animals ...
Buy a few children's beautiful plates with interesting patterns on the bottom. Tell us what a surprise awaits him. The desire to see a bunny or a dog will be an incentive to quickly deal with food.

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The first steps of a baby are perhaps the most exciting moment in the life of parents after their immediate appearance. After all, this means that the crumb has passed another stage of maturation. Naturally, the parents are faced with the question of how to teach the child to walk so that he can independently and confidently feel on his feet.

The task of parents is to facilitate the transition from crawling to walking. In this article we will look at the basic ways of learning to walk, and also teach you how to prevent annoying mistakes in doing so.

Sometimes it can be doubted by the parents whether to teach the child to walk. After all, this process is natural, maybe you should not stop it from developing on its own? The answer to this question is unequivocal: of course, training is necessary! If you let this process take its course, you cannot do without injuries. In addition, the baby can get scared when it hits hard during a fall. This will discourage his desire to walk for a very long time!

What time do I need to teach a child to walk

Did you catch yourself thinking that your girlfriend’s child was already 9 months old, and your age over the year does not want to do this? Before you worry, you should understand how the process of walking starts in nature in general:

The baby begins to move its legs literally within the first few weeks. At this time, the movement of them is carried out at the reflex level and manifest in the fact that the peanut tries to push off from any surface;
By the age of five months he can already bounce, starting from the floor when he is held vertically under his arms. For about seven months, this occupation will be his favorite, until he learns to crawl and sit;
At the age of 8-9 months, children can already make attempts to stand up, holding on to the support. At the same time, they stand on their legs for a while, and more active children can even move around the apartment, holding onto the surrounding furniture;
At 11 months, children usually get up and sit down on their own. Also during this period, the baby can stand on tiptoes or walk by the hand;
By about 13 months, babies start walking on their own. Naturally, while they are doing it awkwardly, as the coordination of movements is not yet developed, and the muscles are not strong enough.

It is important to understand that the given scheme is only generalized statistics. Some children may attempt to walk as early as 9-10 months, and some - at 1.5 years of age go badly. If there were no deviations in physical development, then you should not be alarmed. Perhaps the baby is just afraid of this. And here an important role is played by how responsibly you approach the learning process.

In principle, when you can teach a child to walk, you yourself will understand. He will give you signs. The only thing that doctors do not recommend is to do high loads on the spine at the age of 6-7 months.

Approximate development scheme of the baby for months from birth to 1 year

If there are no restrictions, and your baby is interested in walking at an early age, then you should not limit it to that. But if he begins to act up in the process of learning, it is better to postpone classes for another time in order to avoid further disorder of the child.

1) What is a wheelchair? How to choose the right, read the link.
2) About varieties of baby beds we.

How to properly and quickly teach a child to walk

So, did your crumb begin to move confidently, holding on to the support? This will be the first prerequisite for the child to learn to walk independently. This is where our recommendations will help you.

Tips on how to teach a child to walk properly:

The first exercise is performed in conjunction with someone (dad, grandmother, etc.). Take the baby under the arms and move forward with it. Your partner should stretch the hands of the baby, for which he will grab like a support. At this point, let go of the crumb, so that he steps himself, holding only with his hands. In its appearance, the process resembles movement along a support, but in reality the trajectory differs radically. The direction of movement allows the child to more correctly navigate in space;
Keep your baby under control. Do not allow strong falls, because of which he can be frightened. Constantly insure it so that you can catch it in the event of a fall;
In order for the child to move in the right direction, attract his attention with bright toys and other objects;
For the best insurance in the way of the intended movement of the child, lay soft blankets and pillows. This will prevent injury to the child in the fall;
If the crumb moves not too confidently, swaying from side to side, then you should limit the time of classes. The fact is that sharp swinging movements are harmful to the spine. Yes, and for the joints of the legs is not too useful. Teach your baby to squat so he can take temporary breaks.

1): the main recommendations on the choice and rules of use.
2) What is useful red caviar during pregnancy, read in this article.

Basic mistakes when teaching a child to walk

WITH early age parents try to teach the child to walk, but at the same time they make annoying mistakes, which is why they cannot do it quickly. To prevent this, you should familiarize yourself with the main mistakes of parents:

Use the walker. For mom, this is a clear discharge, but it can be harmful for a child. The fact is that here the essence of the process is reduced simply to pushing away with the feet, which can eventually cause deformation of the feet. In addition, the child is not accustomed to keep his weight upright, because he is sitting on a walker;
Parents tend to teach the child to stand as early as possible. By teaching the child to this at the age of 9 months, the risk of developing flat feet and spinal damage is possible;
The baby is too long standing near the support. Most children stand near the support, but can not sit back. As a result, the load on the weak legs is too high, which is fraught with sprain and even deformity of the foot;
The use of low-quality shoes. It is advisable to teach walking with bare legs. But if you do it on the street, then you should pick up high-quality orthopedic shoes that can support the foot in correct position. On how to correctly determine the size of the child's shoes, we wrote a whole article;
Too much custody. It is important to understand that the child will fall while learning to walk. It is necessary to insure it, but still give the child more freedom and do not jump to him with ahahyami after the slightest fall.

So, we have examined with you how to properly teach a child to walk. If you do not make the most common mistakes of parents, your baby will soon be chasing you through all the rooms. Encourage and encourage it to these actions, so that the child was confident.

If the child does not even attempt to walk closer to the age of two, be sure to consult a doctor. Also make sure that your baby has muscle tone. If not, it will also be a reason to seek qualified help.

Spoon - one of the first tools that the baby begins to use "as intended." For a child, this is a very serious matter - to learn to eat by yourself, and without the help of an adult is not enough.

At what age the child will learn to eat independently, first of all depends on the parents. The more they take care of the baby, the slower he learns new skills. And on the contrary, the baby, whom the mother does not limit in his striving for independence and supports him in everything, will quickly master this difficult task.

When teaching a child how to use the spoon independently, parents need to be patient. Feeding will take longer than usual, and the learning process will take more than one day. It is necessary to prepare for the fact that during the meal the baby will soil not only himself, but everything around. After each meal, you will have to wipe the table, the floor, the hands smeared with food and the face of the child. But this is not a reason to abandon the goal and return to spoon feeding.

When to start teaching a child to eat by yourself?

Children with different speeds master the skill of using a spoon, but, as a rule, by 1–1.5 years they already begin to eat on their own.

Self-esteem when eating for the first time manifests itself in a child at the moment when he begins to eat cookies, crackers, bread. At the next stage of its development, the baby begins to take food from the plate with his hands. Under no circumstances should he be scolded for this - this is a kind of training: he takes the food with his hands and learns to get food in his mouth. It is these actions that bring the little man closer to mastering the skill of self-eating food. After all, before you start eating with a spoon, the child must learn to take and hold objects between the thumb and forefinger. When the crumb masters this important skill - and it will happen by about 7–8 months - you can begin to teach him to use a spoon.

We have self-service

From a very young age, one should teach a child to eat in the kitchen or in the dining room. For feeding, you must purchase a special children's high chair with a removable table, at which it will be convenient for the baby to eat.

Also, the crumbs should have their own dishes: a spoon, a deep and shallow dish, a cup. All children's dishes should be unbreakable, as it may have to fall on the floor more than once. These requirements are met by heat-resistant plastic food.

Plate. At first, the baby will come up with a plate with high sides and a suction cup - it is attached to the table, and the baby is unlikely to be able to turn it over. Crumbs will be more interesting to eat if various little animals or fairy-tale characters are depicted on a plate. You can compose for him some fairy tale and interest painted plot. There are heated plates; they have a tank inside, where hot water is poured - thanks to this, food stays warm for a long time.

A cup. A cup is better to choose small size (no more than 100-125 ml), with handles on both sides. The child will be able to hold it with two hands.

Spoon. Now they make special spoons for toddlers: small in size, with a non-slip comfortable handle, often rounded, convenient for gripping a children's palm.

Fork. You can acquaint the child with a baby fork at about 1.5–2 years old, when he is already well controlled with a spoon. The teeth of the baby fork should not be sharp, but rounded so that the baby cannot hurt himself. It is necessary to show the child that if you have to prick pieces of food with a fork (pieces of cutlet, fish, etc.), then it should be kept teeth down, and if you eat puree-like food (mashed potatoes, vermicelli) with a fork, you should keep it as a spoon.

Mom must show the baby how to stick food on the fork and how to gently remove food from the fork with the mouth so as not to get hurt.

There is also a special teaching dishes for kids. Plastic spoons and forks of such kits have a shape that is curved toward the face. Thanks to this baby, it is easier to bring food to the mouth.

Knife. A little later, in 2.5–3 years, you can give the child a non-sharp children's knife, having previously demonstrated how to use it correctly.

Bib. To prevent the baby from getting dirty while eating, you must wear a special waterproof apron or breastplate with a pocket at the bottom. It is better to have aprons for several, since after each feeding they will have to be washed. Bibs with a curved bottom edge are very comfortable, as they prevent liquid food from running onto the baby’s clothes. These bibs are made of special soft and flexible plastic. They are good because they do not need to be washed - they are easy to wash and dry quickly. It will be quite enough for a baby to have one such breastplate. Washed after meals, he is ready to eat again after 5 minutes.

How to teach a child to eat with a spoon? Basic principles

To teach a child to eat with a spoon, you must consistently observe several principles.

The decision that the baby will learn to eat independently should be agreed with all family members. In order not to happen, the mother teaches the baby to use a spoon, and the grandmother or other relatives feed him. In this case, the baby will be lazy and the learning process may be delayed.
Teaching a child to eat with a spoon is necessary every day so that he does not forget already acquired skills. However, if the crumb is sick, his teeth are cut, he is tired, or he simply has a bad mood - no need to force him to eat on his own. It is better this time to feed the baby with a spoon, and when the child’s condition returns to normal, again to offer him oneself.
Parents must show how they eat themselves. To do this, try to organize joint meals. Main feature child behavior is imitation, therefore, looking at adults, he will take an example from them and will strive to eat on his own.
It is better to feed the child at a fixed time.
For the first attempts to use the spoon on their own, porridge and mashed potatoes are best suited - this is a thick food, and it is easier for the baby to get it to the mouth. If you give the crumbs immediately their own soup, then he simply spills the contents of a spoon, without bringing the food to the mouth.
It is better to offer the child to eat independently when he is really hungry. It is desirable that it was delicious, favorite dishes.
No need to put on the table in front of the child all that is cooked for lunch. Otherwise he will choose, but he will refuse the rest. The first and second courses should be served separately, from different plates.

Eat with a spoon

In order for the baby to understand how to eat with a spoon, mom needs to put the “tool” in his pen and show how to use it properly. Mom takes the child's hand in her, scoops up food from the plate and helps him bring the spoon with the food to the mouth. When this procedure is repeated several times, the baby will understand how to use the spoon. At first, he will keep the spoon in the cam, since his fine motor skills and coordination of movements are still poorly developed. Crumbs just hard to hold this cutlery correctly.

His main goal at this stage is to bring food to the mouth. But still, the child should be shown how to properly hold a spoon, then he will gradually learn this.

If the child began to eat on his own and with appetite, but quickly got tired, the mother should feed him. It is better to do it in parallel - the second spoon. If the baby does not manage to collect food in a spoon on his own, you can offer him a spoon filled with food. Also, the baby can offer this option of food: one mom with a spoon is put into his mouth by his mother, the other by himself.

How to teach a child to drink from a cup on their own?

Teaching your baby to use the cup can begin at 6–8 months. Many parents use a bottle of milk as an intermediate when transferring a baby from a breast or bottle to a cup. After all, learning to drink from the drinking bowl is much easier for a child than from a cup. The drinking bowl is a plastic cup, on which a special cap with a spout is put on, the liquid from this spout falls exactly into the baby's mouth. But it is not necessary for the child to drink from the drinking pot before learning to drink from a cup.

First of all, the mother should show the baby how to use the cup. To do this, she must drink from the cup herself in front of the child. Then you need to gently squeeze the cup to the lips of the child, slightly tilt and give him 1-2 sips of his favorite drink. At first it is necessary to hold the cup and control the actions of the child, hedging it. Very soon, the baby will understand what should be the angle of inclination for the liquid to enter the mouth, and then he can be allowed to drink from the cup on his own. When learning it is important to follow two rules:

• first pour a little liquid into the cup - 3-4 sips - so that the baby does not accidentally choke;
• Drink should always be familiar to the crumbs.

Etiquette for child

From an early age, the child develops proper eating habits and habits. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately teach him to behave at the table.

Before eating, you must wash your child's hands. This is one of the main hygiene skills. Mom should show the baby how to properly wash her hands, and try to explain in an easy way why this should be done.
No need to feed the child outside the kitchen and during the game. Many mothers, trying to feed the baby, surround him with various toys - this is wrong. From the very beginning, you need to make it clear to the crumbs that you should eat while eating, and then to play.
Do not allow a child to play with food and cutlery. When the baby starts messing around, it’s worth stopping at once.
No need to scold the child for carelessness - it is better to teach him to use a napkin. Suitable for this age - 1.5 years. First, the mother should show the baby with her example what the napkin is for, and then you can offer it to the baby.

Rules for adults

Do not feed the child forcibly, because he may be fixed negative attitude to the food.
You can not rush the baby during the meal.
You can not leave the child while eating alone; he may choke or choke.
Be sure to praise the crumb, even if he does not succeed.

And finally, two universal rules that it is important to remember for adults who teach a child to be independent:

not to impose excessive demands on the child;
do not do for the baby what he can do himself.

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