finger food

[mushpea]

i have a 11lmonth old mindee who only eats either food from jars or food from mums plate,, if she cooks the same thing for him as shes eating he will still only eat it from her plate (probably cause thats what hes used to and becuause she lets him), when i try to give him finger foods he dosent have a clue what do do with them,, he wont even hold them and if i put them in his hand he will straighten out his fingers so tight that i cant gently bend them around the food, how do i get him to eat finger foods? should i just leave it on the plate and let him get on with it in the hope he will eventualy eat or do you have any other suggestions?, he will eat fruit if i put it in his mouth.

[Zoomie]

Does mum feed LO straight off her plate and into his/her mouth.

if she does, then i would have a conversation with mum about LO needing to learn hand mouth co-ordination etc

try to go on as you mean. if you want LO to self feed, then stand back and allow (force) LO to do this. 8m babies usually have enough control to handle pieces of cooked carrot etc (have a look at Baby Led Weaning - I did this with my DD and swear by it)

[miffy]

I agree with Zoomie - it sounds as though mum is feeding baby directly into his mouth.

Does he pick up toys and mouth them? If he does them there's no reason he can't pick up food.

Be firm - put the finger food in front of him and model eating it yourself, then encourage but don't feed him.

Speak to mum too - you really need her to stop feeding him all the time.

Miffy xx

[mama2three]

Does the lo like messy play , playdough , foam etc? It could be that they dont like the feel of the food on their hands . It is much more likely that they just havent learned the skill yet though as they are so used to being spoon fed. I would keep offering lots of varieties on the highchair tray and let them get on with it. poor thing may be unhappy - but wont starve!

[mushpea]

he is definatly spoon fed by mum all the time,, i have even tried putting food on a spoon then handing him the spoon but he wont take that either,, he eats the food straight from the jar cold at mine and at home unless its from mums plate,, then only from mums plate when he has eaten his jar,,tried putting the jar food in a bowl and even if its warm or cold he wont eat it from a bowl only from the jar

[singingcactus]

I don't think I would ever refuse to feed him. He is only 11 months old after all. I would begin, though, teaching him what to do whilst feeding him. Sounds like he has an issue with the texture of the food, and like any other child will need time and opportunity to become accustomed to this. Simply refusing to feed him will only create conflict and cause him to have issues around food as he becomes stressed by the situation.

[Tealady]

Just keep offering finger foods and he will get the hang of it. If you have other mindees make tea or snack time a finger food time so he can watch and learn from the others. My DS was funny with food and even now if somthing is new or he doesn't recognise it gets ignored the first few times it's offered. Then he'll poke and prod the next couple of times and finally he'll pop it in his mouth.

If it's a texture thing messy play will help, try cooked noodles, or pasta. Shaving foam or playdough.

[Carol M]

Does mum feed LO straight off her plate and into his/her mouth.

if she does, then i would have a conversation with mum about LO needing to learn hand mouth co-ordination etc

try to go on as you mean. if you want LO to self feed, then stand back and allow (force) LO to do this. 8m babies usually have enough control to handle pieces of cooked carrot etc (have a look at Baby Led Weaning - I did this with my DD and swear by it)

BLW. Fantastic
I have mindee 7 1/2 mths eating beetroot and mushroom quiche right next to me now. She will also put a spoon to her mouth and eat from it.Mum lent me book by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett and I am converted!
I agree lo will not starve and if he sees others eating themselves he will soon get the idea and want to feed himself but mum needs to be on board too.
Carol xx

[Bridey]

I would give him a bit of finger food to play with before you feed him from the jar, when he's hungriest. Even if he just touches and plays with it at first its a start.

[Noomie]

I mind a 10mth old that is still on 5/6 bottles a day! Mum wants baby to eat solids but he fusses so much, gives in and bottle it is. Hard to feed him lunch when he's had a bottle at 12. Hard to give him tea at 5 when he's had a bottle at 3ish. He's not hungry. He also won't take food from a spoon from me.

So I started to give finger foods. The first week he squished the food a lot and most of it went in his hair, over him, on the floor, etc! Some did go in though. Now, less gets squished or on the floor and more goes in. He is watching all the others eat too. He's only here 2 afternoons so I always plan for him to eat things those nights that are finger food for him. List of things he is eating is growing. But it's been 6 weeks now. It took a lot of time. Still can't feed him anything from a spoon. It will come though.

Hope this ramble helps in some way! LOL

[clareelizabeth1]

When I used to work at a nursery. We used to leave a bowl whith a spoon in it and a bit of food for them to try and feed them selfs for 15-20 mins depending on skil and then help them finish it at the end. Lots of it got mushed in to hair, high chairs and occasionally other children but all the children there were happy to eat pretty much anything and they all really looked forward to lunch. Which is what you want.

[mufftie]

i have a baby who's following the baby led weaning , i thought it bazaar at first watching a 7 month old pick up and eat jacket potato's , chicken pies , she loves roast veg with humus , but now to watch her at 8 months its amazing as she is totally independant and meal times , ok makes a mess but but she is so much further forward with regards chuncky foods as a normally weaned baby at 8 months

i just suggest like the others that you give him some food to trial feeding himself with but then continue to feed him his main meal as at least you know he will have eaten