My 13 month old won't eat food on his own...?

Question

My son is 13 months old and will not pick up food and put it in his mouth? He'll pick it up to drop it or move it but the only way we can get him to eat is by feeding him by spoon is there something I can do to help him feed himself?

Answer 1

Babies do that sometimes, so dont worry. They do it for a few different reasons;
1. To make you feed him/her
2. To get fed faster (for they take longer)
3. They cant find their mouth easily (at first) get frustrated and just scream
4. They dont like the feel of the food on their skin (just like some babies dont like the feel of sand on their skin either).

I have four children, and some of them tried that on me (LOL!). I push independence so I waited until they were very hungry (not starving, but hungry enough), opened (and warmed) a can of soup, baby dinners or chopped up spaghetti, or room temperature mushy cheerios or down on the tray of the high chair. Put it in his hand, and led it to their mouths.

If he doesn’t like the 'feel' of it, buy him one of those feed them self baby spoons, that are curved handles (plastic) and put it in his hand, scoop with it, lead it to his mouth. Make "vvroom" noises with it to keep him interested in this new 'game'. He’ll make one h*ll of a mess, so have one of those plastic liners under the high chair!

If all else fails, wait a month, try again. Sooner or later, he'll do it, so dont worry.

Another tip, when potty training starts (and boys are always easier then girls to potty train) throw some cheerios in the toilet and tell him to ‘aim’ for them. I read about it in Parents magazine, and it works like a charm.

Also, as he grows, pick one bottom drawer in the kitchen for him to help himself; load it with plastic cups, plastic plates, plastic bowls. This way, he can get his own drinks (mess’s will happen, but to me independence was more important) and get his own breakfast. The more they do it, the better they get at it.

To this day, all of my kids are extremely independent. My oldest, bought his own vehicle, pays for his auto insurance, title, tags, registration and gas. He bought and pays for his own cell phone, clothes, etc My second oldest is also doing the same thing. They all help themselves in the house, and do their own laundry too thank God (LOL!).

Just my opinion,
:)

Answer 2

This may sound cruel but don't feed him just put the food in front of him. Lay down something that you know he'll love and when he gets all excited don't feed him and let him do it himself. He'll get mad at first but he'll get frustrated and hungry and will eventually pick it up and feed himself.

Answer 3

oh mumma we still feed ours n she's 4 yrs old. However we have 2 as she has a condition where by she must eat or suffer a visit 2 hospital. my other 2 how ever learnt if they didnt eat they whent with out, but at this age 2 have them learn 2 feed them selfs always give there favorit food n watch from a distance while he experiments n gets the hang of it with out perfomance angxighity.

Answer 4

show him how to eat with a spoon, take his had with the spoon in it and show him to put it in his mouth. Otherwise, he'll expect you to feed him untill hes like two. Not good.

Answer 5

teenagers are choosy. My daughter will consume something. My nephew ate mac n cheese popular for 4 weeks promptly! It purely relies upon on the youngster and what they like. some teenagers are choosy approximately textures and scents. You mentioned she likes cheese puffs so i might attempt to locate something this is comparable and progressively she would have the capacity to get used to the different ingredients. you could desire to purpose the Gerber Graduates Finger ingredients that they make for infants. They make all categories of puffs snacks! And in case you're somewhat stressful approximately it...Pedia particular makes a drink for toddlers who will possibly no longer get the food that they choose from nutrition. this is equivalent to milk, purely flavored. Im particular with time she would have the capacity to start attempting extra new ingredients and surely taking area in a number of them. good success!

Answer 6

Let him get really hungry and leave him in his high chair with the food on his tray....then just ignore him. He sounds like a smart
kid and has figured out that if he's patient, you will do all the
hard work for him. So letting him go hungry for a bit won't
hurt him, sooner or later he will figure out that he has to
feed himself.

Answer 7

He might be doing this to get his bottle back if you have taken it away already. Feed him yourself for now. Eventually he will get the hang of feeding himself. He is probably just taking his time.

Answer 8

Help him mom as 13 months old is still very young, he is still trying to get the hang of it. He will catch on soon enough.

Answer 9

My little girl is still having problems with it as well and she is one month shy of 2 years old. I would not worry to much about it, she has FINALY started to use her spoon and fork and she LOVES it now!!! Just give him time.