Tips to teach children to eat with a spoon and 4 common mistakes made

Children begin to develop the hand-eye coordination movement needed to feed themselves at 8-11 months of age. If your baby tries to reach for your spoon or imitate it while you are eating, your baby is ready for parents to teach him or her to eat with a spoon.

In fact, some kids won't master spoon-using skills until they are four years old. However, with a bit of patience and a positive attitude, you can encourage your child to use a spoon instead of picking up his fingers as before. Teaching your baby to eat with a spoon will help your baby improve the development of rough and fine motor skills.

Teach your child to eat with a spoon

Step 1

Prepare foods your baby can easily scoop with, such as baby cereal or banana mashed. If you are feeding your baby powdered food , mix it in a slightly thick ratio or add 2-3 tablespoons of vegetables to prevent the powder from falling off the spoon too quickly.

Step 2

Give your child a spoon and have a similar one in your hand. Bring the spoon closer to the mouth to show your baby how to use it. Let your child practice with his spoon a few times or if he wants to take the spoon you are eating, just give it to him.

Step 3

Scoop the food into the bowl and encourage your baby to dip the spoon inside. Help your child scoop the food into the spoon if he has trouble or scoop some food into the spoon you are holding and give it to him.

Step 4

Praise your baby for using the spoon correctly and stay calm, don't nag when your baby drops food. Let your child scoop the next spoon and continue exercising until the meal is over.

In addition, you should also make sure your baby is eating well enough. If most of your baby's food falls on the floor, offer it until it's almost finished. After that, you will teach your baby to eat with a spoon with some remaining food.

Mistakes are often made

1. Start the process of teaching your child to eat with a spoon too early

Many parents believe that teaching children to eat with a spoon as soon as possible. However, you should wait until the baby is 1 - 2 years old for him to perfect his grasping and learning skills and be able to sit still.

2. Press the child to eat with a spoon

Forging children to eat well is a process. Therefore, you should not be too rushed when starting to use a spoon for your baby. You can let your baby eat with one hand and spoon in the other hand. Encourage your child to use a spoon to grab food instead of holding his or her hand and forcing him to eat with a spoon.

3. Let your child eat separately

Sometimes you will want to feed your baby first so you can eat it right after. However, let your child sit and eat with your family when it's time to eat. Your baby will observe how parents or siblings use a spoon to take food and practice to follow. Although things are a bit messy at first, please do your best.

4. Spoon is too small

Instead of using spoons that are too small and your baby might get too deep into the throat and hurt, choose a spoon that is slightly larger. In addition, should give preference to plastic or wood products, avoid disposable plastic scoops.