Self feeding tips

If your baby is ready to graduate from spoon-feeding — or you're trying a baby-led weaning approach — it’s time to introduce a new utensil to the high chair: baby’s fingers. Self-feeding is a big milestone in your little one's development, as it encourages her to explore food through her senses of touch, taste, sight and smell. And just when you thought mealtime couldn’t get any messier! Give her lots of practice with smaller, bite-sized morsels of food to help her master important finger skills, and learn how to gum, chew and move food around in her mouth — all crucial skills for a developing eater.

Here are some simple tips, tricks and ideas to help you and your baby make the transition to self-feeding.

When can a baby start self-feeding? As soon as your baby can sit up and swallow solids (usually around the age of 6 months), she may be ready to start self-feeding. Some parents choose to introduce purées before letting their little one graduate to finger foods around 7 or 8 months, while other families opt for baby-led weaning (BLW) — a practice in which babies start feeding themselves soft, gummable foods when they first start sampling solids around the 6-month mark. Fans of baby-led weaning say that the process allows babies to control how much (and how quickly) they eat. Another plus: Babies can eat the same types of foods (in baby-sized portions and consistencies, of course) as the rest of the family. When to introduce finger foods is up to you. And, of course, always get the green light from your pediatrician before offering solids and finger foods.

How should parents introduce self-feeding? To start, bring your baby’s high chair to the table with you during regular meals (she eats when you eat). Next, scatter four or five small pieces onto an unbreakable plate or directly onto baby’s feeding tray (or offer a soft, gummable food such as banana strips if you're following a baby-led weaning approach).