Encouraging Your Baby To Self Feed

When it comes to self feeding, the mind and the capabilities of your baby don't always progress in sync. Often a baby is determined to feed herself, but doesn't yet have the ability to grasp food or spoon, and she ends the meal messy and frustrated.

Other times, babies are content with the ease of being fed, and despite being able to feed themselves, continue to push mom to do the job. In the former case, you need to provide the opportunities to make her efforts successful, and in the later case, you have to do a little persistent pushing.

From the very beginning you and your baby should each have a spoon during mealtimes. Letting your baby take part in feedings not only gives him or her a degree of independence, it's also a great way to improve hand-eye coordination and overall manual dexterity.

Don't worry about atrocious table manners, etiquette lessons can come later. For now, just concentrate on making eating solid foods and drinking from a cup as enjoyable as possible.

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