Even if the child has no teeth, it is very important. This is useful for mastering chewing skills in the future.
Photo: Olga Eremin
Solid food
The thing is that the first chewing movementsappear at about six months, when most babies have no teeth. Initially, the baby learns to chew with gums. And if this chewing reflex is not reinforced with practice, then gradually it fades. I know babies who at two and a half years old still cannot eat soup unless it is pureed. Children simply choke or do not swallow, since they began to get used to solid food late. Therefore, from eight to nine months, you can and should definitely offer the baby to take pieces with his hands. For example, offer a banana or a soft pear. This will also help develop a pincer grip and coordination of the hands and mouth. At the same time, it is better not to mix pieces with pureed food, it will be more difficult for the baby to figure it out. After about 12 months, most children are ready to switch to the general table. At a year and a month, we noticed that our daughter stopped liking any pureed food, she categorically refused it. At the same time, the same vegetables, boiled into cubes, became much more attractive to her.
Feed the nehochuhu
From my own experience I can say that during the first weeks my daughterShe really tried to eat all the vegetables that I offered her. But after about a month, she began to categorically push away the spoon and plate, and did not even open her mouth. I was worried, every day I sat her in the chair again and again and tried to feed her. It seemed to me that all children eat and happily open their mouths, and only we were not like that! Now I would definitely not do that. I would leave the baby alone for a few weeks, occasionally offering food. And wait until she wants to try again on her own. It is not worth worrying about, the child is still small, and you definitely do not need to force him to eat. This can scare the baby and greatly fray the mother's nerves, but in the end it will not lead to a positive result. In addition, when my daughter began to actively teethe, she again began to refuse food. And this is also normal. It hurts children, the spoon irritates. And when the tooth erupts, then feeding should improve. Lack of appetite can also be a sign of the onset of illness in a baby, you should pay attention to this right away. But we had problems with food almost constantly, I can count on the fingers of one hand the days when all meals were ideal. There was a period when my daughter stopped sitting in a high chair. I literally walked around the entire kitchen after her with a plate and spoon, and that was the only way she ate. Then I stopped doing this. Then we both realized that this was wrong, that they only ate at the table and that it would not be any other way. In order to feed the baby, what I do not do, for example:
- I sit next to her and eat too (it's better that you and your baby eat the same thing);
- I feed my daughter from her plate;
- I tell fairy tales, I include audiobooks with verses, I give pictures;
- I plant next to her favorite doll, which we feed from a spoon together;
- on the table in front of the baby I put small pieces of favorite food (cheese, bread, grapes, pear, tomato), while she eats with pleasure, I feed her in parallel from a spoon;
- I exclude snacks between meals.
I will not dissemble, sometimes nothing ofthe above does not help. The daughter may refuse to sit in the high chair, do not open her mouth, throw off food on the floor or spit out bits. At the same time there is a special apron my child flatly refuses. She immediately cries, and it becomes completely unreal to feed on. And now I'm looking at this picture, and my hands just go down. The daughter herself all messed up, after each meal the jacket, and sometimes the trousers fly into the laundry. Table, chair, and sometimes the floor around dirty. But getting used to washing the floors several times a day turned out to be the simplest. If the child at the same time ate, then cleaning does not bother me at all. But it happens that the baby did not ate at all. And every time I wonder what went wrong. At this the daughter sits with such arrogant face and so artistically turns her head, saying "pff" that I want to quickly get out of the way with all the spoons and plates taken together. It is easiest to leave the child in rest, get out of the chair and captivate the game. But sometimes I just can not leave a child hungry, and I have to come up with more and more new ways. I know that the basis for a good meal is a hungry, uptight child. And I often hear that the child will not leave himself hungry. But at the same time I can not believe that my child did not walk up an appetite for five hours. It is important to remember that if a kid has no problems with weight deficit, with a chair, the child himself is active, behaves as usual, he has enough food. And the problem is more in my mother's head. Especially while the baby receives, in addition to complementary feeding, milk or a mixture.
Photo: Getty Images
Cartoons with food
I know that many parents turn on cartoons while feeding. I will tell you what is dangerous about this method:
- The child is inferior in controlling the portion volume, which increases the risk of overeating;
- the kid does not pay attention to the food itself, taste buds do not distinguish between different tastes;
- less gastric juice and saliva is released, which does not contribute to the formation of a healthy appetite.
Therefore, the emphasis should be placed on the mostfood and the process of eating, if possible without distractions. In theory, this all sounds very convincing, but in practice, everything does not always turn out that way. I was categorically against cartoons during meals. But other mothers tried so hard to convince me that it was not scary at all, everyone does it, and this is really a way out ... and I gave in. For example, I understand that the baby has not eaten for four hours, and we soon have to go to the doctor. And she refuses to eat again. And for the first time, I turned on a cartoon. In fact, everything turned out to be not quite as many mothers say. Sometimes my daughter is so irritated by food intake that no cartoon will make her even sit in a high chair. Or she will eat a few spoons, after which she will start to turn away or spit out food. And sometimes this method really works. Now I have decided that in the most extreme cases I can use this method. After all, a hungry child will be unhappy and capricious. And this will help save both my and her nerves. I will feed my daughter on time, we will be able to go about our business on time, and the entire daily routine will not be disrupted. Now we have more or less successful periods. Sometimes the products that were the most favorite yesterday, today are categorically not liked. Each time I have to look for new keys to this mysterious girl. But I know that now this is one of my tasks - to feed my daughter. And I believe that as she grows up, the problem will gradually be solved. It will be easier to agree, explain and find out what exactly she does not like and prevents her from having a normal lunch. Also interesting:
