Children: tips for teaching them to eat on their own.
If you don’t know how to teach your child to eat on their own, here are some tips.
Teaching the child to eat by himself helps him become familiar with food, stimulating his curiosity and motor coordination. A conquest towards autonomy. However, there is no right age to teach a child to eat on his own. It all depends on the main signals transmitted by him. However, on a general level, here are the indicative ages:
- at 9 months the child is able to hold the bottle with his hands
- between 12 and 15 months he can keep a spoon and bring it to his mouth
- around 2 years can use a fork
- a 3-year-old should sit correctly at the table
- around the age of 6 he could start using the knife under adult supervision
The best way for a child to learn to feed on their own is to watch adults or older siblings do it. You have to buy a comfortable high chair to put it at the table and you need a lot of patience, because it could get dirty and create disasters. Give your child plenty of time to eat and familiarize themselves with food. When he manages to bring the food to his mouth, then we must praise him, smiling at him.
It is best to shred foods into small, soft pieces of food. Avoid broths that are too liquid or solid and dangerous foods. The soups and purees are excellent, easily ingested with a teaspoon. Times and ways change a lot from child to child to learn to eat independently. Parents need to invest time and patience in such teaching.
