I have discovered that Jacob prefers to eat without utensils. I started him much earlier than my other kids on cheerios and those little freeze dried fruits that disolve easily because he clearly prefered to feed himself. He will turn his head away and refuse to eat a food on a spoon. For anyone who is not aware, today they do not recommend you ever force a child to eat. That's how they learn to self-regulate. (in other words, they know when they are hungry and when they're not. Just because you want them to finish the last two spoonfuls doesn't mean they're hungry for it).
That presented a problem for me though when I knew Jacob was hungry and I knew he liked the food but he just wouldn't eat it. I didn't want to force it, yet I knew he was hungry and would be grouchier and wake more often without eating. You'd think with him being my 4th child I would have all this stuff down pat. But there are new lessons to be learned with each kid! I have recently found if I put that same food that he refused in a pile on the tray he will gladly scoop it up with his hand and eat it, no problem. Messier, but he eats, and I don't feel like a bad Mom for shoving or tricking food into his mouth!
That presented a problem for me though when I knew Jacob was hungry and I knew he liked the food but he just wouldn't eat it. I didn't want to force it, yet I knew he was hungry and would be grouchier and wake more often without eating. You'd think with him being my 4th child I would have all this stuff down pat. But there are new lessons to be learned with each kid! I have recently found if I put that same food that he refused in a pile on the tray he will gladly scoop it up with his hand and eat it, no problem. Messier, but he eats, and I don't feel like a bad Mom for shoving or tricking food into his mouth!
1 comment:
I love to see kids eat on their own, just as long as you have them in a cleared area, for when they get the food on them, as well as the floor, furniture, etc....Then you throw/put them in the tub to clean them, it makes for a happy child and mom.
I also agree with you about not forcing them to eat the last few bites, even though we were told as a child that there are many hungry kids in the world. Well, then go feed the many hungry kids in the world, because kids will eat when they are hungry and not before. Just because one child is proportioned differently doesn't mean they are starving or hungry. I would hear that all the time when Billy and Tommy were toddlers, because Tom was the chunky one and Billy looked like the child starving in Africa, LOL. As they both grew, Tom thinned out, and then they looked more like equals in weight.
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