When a child should eat himself. Exercises for an early age. When do children start eating themselves?

The skill of using a spoon in the process of eating is the very first self-service skill that a child will have to meet. Parents turn to feeding the baby with a spoon when they begin to inject the first complementary foods with porridge or mashed potatoes.   In most cases this happens in. At this age, children still can not eat independently with a spoon. And if they keep this cutlery properly, then they cannot feed themselves. Therefore, parents will have to be patient and calm, until their baby learns to use a spoon. Our advice and recommendations will help moms and dads quickly and easily teach their children to the spoon.

You must verify your identity. Thank you for helping us improve the quality of our content. Most babies start walking between 10 and 14 months. For children to learn to speak well, this is one of the first crucial stages of their life, just as it is, for example, learning to walk.

It is sometimes difficult to teach young children everything they need to grow in a healthy and self-sufficient way. There are some tips on how to apply, so that our child learns how to feel "great." We will see some significant examples. Learning a child is one, even with a spoon and fork, is not easy. We must be armed with patience and determination, and little by little the results will be visible. We proceed from the assumption that each child has its own learning rhythm, and we cannot expect the baby to know immediately, and not spoil it.

  1. To feed the baby, you need to choose the "right" spoon: it should be shallow, rubberized, comfortable. On the shelves of children's supermarkets, you can easily find similar cutlery. And sales assistants will tell you which model is best to choose according to the age of the child.
  2. Do not let the baby play with a spoon, but do not miss the opportunity at each feeding to offer him to hold it. The child must clearly learn the causal relationship "spoon-food."
  3. Show by example how to properly handle this cutlery.   Be sure to say the name of the item ( "This is a spoon") and its purpose ( "She eats porridge, mashed potatoes, soup").
  4. At first, the child must master the ability to properly and confidently hold a spoon in his hand. Peanut will knock on the table with a spoon, push it into the mouth, but not use it for its intended purpose. This is normal. Let the baby get acquainted with this cutlery.
  5. Only then can you suggest that he try to grab porridge or mashed potatoes with a spoon.   (such action is possible, as a rule, in 8-9 months).
  6. The first treatment of children with a spoon is always uncertain.   The baby can scatter half the contents, get dirty, carry it past the mouth. Do not scold him for this!
  7. The best thing that a mother can do when teaching a child to use a spoon is to be tolerant of his small failures and enjoy the first success. Help the child in this difficult task for him, gently direct his pen at every stage - from scooping up porridge before sending it to the mouth. The child should feel your help and support. And such interaction with his mother will be for him not only useful, but also very pleasant.
  8. If the baby has learned to grab porridge with a spoon and direct it to the mouth, no need to rush it.   Give crumbs time. Sometimes an independent meal can be delayed. Be patient! And soon the uncertain movements of the baby will become accurate and precise.
  9. Remember that for a child using a spoon is a process that requires concentration, effort, coordination of movements. Therefore, such a thing can quickly bore him. Let's take time to rest the toddler (at this moment you can invite him to drink or wipe the soiled cheeks).
  10. Eat with your child more often.   Put him in a highchair, put a plate of porridge in front of him, arm the child with cutlery, and arrange yourself nearby. The child, seeing your manipulations, will imitate them. In addition, he will know - mom does the same! Psychologists believe that the clarity of action not only contributes to the rapid development of the skill, but also creates a sense of trust in the child.

Do not forget that before the baby learns to carefully use a spoon, it will take more than one month. For him, this new and complex skill means much more than simple self-service. This is a new stage in its development!

Let's get ready for pasta and blowjob scattered everywhere. Here are some tips on how to act. The child, of course, is brought to the mouth of everything that catches, so this will ease you. A good opportunity to start depends on you: look at your son while eating and pay attention if he is tempted to touch and try.

The child, in fact, was in contact with the bottle and cups from 6 months. This causes him to quickly learn the mechanism of approaching and pushing the bottle out of his mouth. Going into the open glass is not so difficult: start with a very small amount of water, teaching the child to hold the glass with both hands. One or two branches, and then place the container. Scratch him if he is wet, pouring water over him and praise him if he performs the gesture correctly.

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.

In fact, this is a more complex competency that develops around the age of one year. To teach this, let's help by pulling a spoon with a small dummy and accompanying his hand to his mouth. The next step will be a fork. The more we try and repeat the operation, despite the disappointment with regard to the missed results, the more the training time is reduced, and we praise and reward the little when he takes the right steps, and this will be achieved gradually, of course, the first step towards his autonomous is to “explore” him and allow him to approach food with his hands.

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.

In the first years of life, in fact, children touch, manipulate and examine everything with their own hands. Therefore, contact with food is fundamental. Start from the second, among the various parts of the dough, the easiest to cut into pieces. Cut the meat or cheese into small noodles or vegetables, such as carrots and green beans, and bread, inviting the child to take it all with his fingers.

How to help children walk

The day of a very young child is marked by three fundamental moments of its growth. Nanna, papaya and physiological needs, important indicators of the health of a little man. How to help children walk: tips to encourage the development of free and spontaneous motor skills while avoiding minor accidents. The baby’s first steps are a moment of emotion for mom and dad. Walking is a goal that is achieved after physical and motor development, which should occur naturally. To see how your son moves the first steps, you feel a desire to help him, holding him in his arms or inviting him to stand next to some furniture.

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.

How to encourage a child to walk

Then let's see how to help children walk. It is not in a hurry, and you have to be patient, not forcing your child to make movements that are not spontaneous and unnatural. Sooner or later it is time for all the little ones to find the courage and desire to get up and move the first steps.

The human body is structured to perform many different movements: rolling, climbing, roaring, bending, flexing, etc. these are movements that we often see in young children and tend to underestimate them in favor of the path. Walking means becoming self-reliant in movement; you do not need to take it, carry it in a group or in a group, but this should be a conquest to which the child comes autonomously after learning all possible moves.

We have self-service

From the early age It is necessary to teach the 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.

And then get him a ball or a game with his further interest, try to put him, possibly higher, reach out and help him stand up and take a few steps with us. To cope with the inconvenient attempts to stand up for the protection of children, this also applies to tools such as watches that allow a child to run home, and his mother is dealing with something else. According to the current testimony of pediatricians, these attempts to accelerate the mobility of children do not bring real benefits; rather, they should be avoided in favor of free and spontaneous motor skills.

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.

Even in some countries, such as Canada, the sale of waders was forbidden by law, because it would be a dangerous object: a child could fall and would not be able to stand up and feel false security, moving too quickly and not realizing the possible risks.

When a child starts walking alone, he develops a sense of balance, strengthens his legs through other moments and games, learns what it means to get up and move with the movement of legs and knees. According to pediatricians, if we observe the movements of the child on the knees, we can conclude that this tool is not suitable for learning to walk. Do not let it move, the leg does not move at the tips, you bend if you go to bend. For these reasons, putting a child in the windshield would not help a child walk alone and properly.

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.

How to help your child walk alone

Therefore, as said, children should be free to explore and move as far as they believe. Many of them never stand up straight, others seem to have developed an incredible ability to move along their four legs and do not want to move with their first steps. We can invite them to stand, hold their hands, give them keys with which to move, for example, move around the edge of a bed or sofa, but it can also be useful to give him a wheelbarrow or an item with wheels to rest and move around, thus exploring environment moving to the ground.

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.

At these stages of a clean opening, it is important to make the house suitable for the child, for example, by placing umbrellas on the sharp corners of the furniture, such as a table in the living room or on the edges of the bed. A child at the research stage may be difficult to control. When a child begins to clap, they end up with empty drawers, open furniture doors and each laying on the ground. This is a child safety issue, not an order. The transition from cats to the first steps is difficult for those who care for children.

Here are some tips to avoid minor accidents. Install children's locks in the kitchen, bathroom and door cabinets that contain fragile or sharp objects. Place an obstacle in front of the TV, for example, a coffee table so that the child does not pull it onto the floor or hang the edges like the corners of the tables.

  • Lift the detergent on the shelf, both in the kitchen and in the bathroom.
  • Close the power sockets with the appropriate children's plates.
Although it is correct to adhere to the individual time of the child and his various stages of development, it is important to keep track of them so that they can see that something is wrong.

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.

Just as a child who has not spoken for two years, should be visited by a pediatrician or a specialist, and also a child who has not passed twenty months must check. If a child is late, there is no need to make a mistake reproaching him or, on the contrary, praise his peers who walk calmly, perhaps he has suffered a little, he falls trying to get up and is afraid to try again. Supporting him, helping him, supporting him and respecting his time, sooner or later he will also walk.

How to have a child for yourself

The information contained on this site is not intended and should in no way replace the direct link between healthcare professionals and the reader. How to have a baby for yourself? This is a long and complex undertaking that requires stimulation and patience: here are some tips. Many mothers, when their child begins to sit on a chair and be interested in handling food and carry out objects associated with it, question whether or not to doubt the ideal age where you should or could teach your child to eat alone.

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.

Walking, much depends on the signs the child gives: is it interesting about food or does it passively accept it? Can he grab cutlery or small pieces of food, using, for example, two fingers? At this wonderful stage, the child learns his place in the family, acquires the rules.

At two years old, the child usually eats alone, holds the glass with one hand and almost does not get dirty. Every so often he may be asked to be caught, but in fact it is more hugging or demanding attention than the real difficulties. About two and a half years, begins to use the plug and correctly imposes the mouthpiece.

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.

For three years she should be right at the table. For example, knowing that “using cutlery so decided to have hands, try to remove this” bad habit gently but firmly, otherwise it will continue because it is more convenient for those who know what.

For parents in this long educational phase, patience is indispensable. Do not expect good manners right away, but a growing little one imitates you, and if you know what to do, it will do the same. Put the child in the highchair and keep it near the table while you eat: this way they learn that time for lunch or dinner is also an opportunity to be together and, of course, they want to imitate the child is easier to eat if baby food is at the tip and if the spoon not filled Try to organize yourself to better prevent catastrophes.

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.

Dear teacher Elena. Dear Mother, it is simply that there is a mistake: first do it. Why you should do it first. Food is a delicate moment when a child knows the world through food - it is not just the satisfaction of the primary need, because he is hungry, but discovery and pleasure.

Teach how this is done: cutlery, glasses, a saucer, put next to you, and then eat together. Hurry, with joy and pleasure. The child grows and it is time to introduce solid food into her food. Does everyone suddenly find you face to face with your first nanny experience and have to refuse to eat a baby? Here are a few practical advice   and help.

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 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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