Brie : Self-Feeding and Mealtime Mess
Brie is 1.5 years old now, and she’s one baby who doesn’t quite welcome being spoon-fed.
She’d prefer to feed herself since she’s around a year old.
She’d use her fingers to pick her food off her plastic bowl and plate.
She’d use forks and spoons too.
Eg. When she eats her fruits (eg. Watermelon, apple, papaya), spaghetti, rice, noodles, bread, chicken pieces, broccoli, carrots, etc.
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I personally don’t mind because it means:
> Brie gets to learn some hand-eye coordination skill
(Bringing the spoon to the mouth with the food still ON IT is NOT easy for little hands)
> Brie is on her journey towards independence!
> I get to prepare the older kids’ meals / finish cooking / wash the dishes / clear other housework, while Brie feeds herself
> I get to sit back and eat my own meal too =)
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Not everyone welcomes this idea of letting a child feeds herself though.
Two main reasons I’ve personally heard are:
> The food is wasted (because obviously as the toddler learns to self-feed, some food will fall to the floor)
> It’ll be too messy
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Well.
To me, yes it’s messy, and so when we’re home, I’ll just lift her up and give her a shower afterwards, hehe.
And, when we’re outside, I’ll simply wash her hands, or clean her hands and mouth with some wet wipes.
Pretty straight forward, yes? =)
As to the concern of ‘wasting food’, … well, I thought it’s just part and parcel of anyone’s learning journey?
Like, I’m sure a great baker has ever ‘failed’ in baking something when he first learned how to bake?
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[Cute spillmat is from Tinydipity.com]
Two quick tips to share:
> Don’t put too much food all at once. Add some a little more when baby is done with what’s in her bowl / plate
> Place a mat or even some newspaper under the baby chair. It makes ‘cleaning up after mealtime’ a little easier =) Plus, since I know my mat is clean, I’d often pick up the food pieces (eg. Broccoli pieces) and place them back in the bowl =)
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Oh well, anyway.
I guess it’s my personal preference (ie. Both Anya and Vai also started self-feeding around the age of one)
What’s YOUR preference?
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Self feeding is good but half of the food being wasted how do you make sure she has eaten enough and got the required nutrition for the day. I always used to worry if I let my girl eat by herself when she was one year old because the food is prepared with lot of effort and I want the veggies and everything to go in. I used to let her eat snacks by herself and the 3 meals I feed. The mess they make if they self feed I don’t mind . Cleaning up is not a problem. But I can’t watch the food prepared with lot of effort being wasted!
Hi Cherry,
One tip I learned is to give the child small portions at a time (and add bit by bit as the child finishes).
After letting the child self-feed (the small portions we allow in their bowl / plate) until the child is not so interested in self feeding, we can then continue the meal and feed them the rest?
kasih makan sendiri dong…. senang melihat blepotan.. malah sekarang anaknya minta makan sendiri juga…
applausr recently posted..Belajar dari Tukang Koran
Iya, benar … anak yang sering self feeding biasanya akan jadi lebih independent lebih cepet pas jam makannya =)
If the child really wants to feed himself,do not let them stop.It is learning,do not worry about the mess,we can fix it after.
True. Often though, the who who’ll be cleaning the mess later is the one who is not too amused =)
Placing sheets of newspaper or using a ‘spill mat’ like we do helps a lot (in lessening the amount of cleaning /stress =)
I wish my boy will want to feed himself. He is 32 months already! I think there was a period he was interested in self feeding. But my MIL didn’t allow cause she is afraid of the mess. As a result he lost interest in it now. *sigh*
The Little Mom recently posted..Wordless Wednesday: Endorsement
Uh oh … I agree with you, when someone else at home also has a ‘say’ in handling the child, it’ll be tougher on the Mommy.