Thank you Happy Family for sponsoring today’s post.
My Little Man is getting to the age where he wants to be independent. He doesn’t want help from mommy. He has entered the “do it by myself stage”. In a way it is nice to see him trying to do things on his own. But other times, I go crazy because he just makes big messes. I went through this with my Princess too so I knew what to expect. But, this second child is so much more vocal about it. He is a screamer. He gets angry and wants the spoon or food in his hands. He will refuse to eat until he can try it by himself.
So when my baby is feeding himself I usually take off his clothes, put him in his high chair and let him have his own age appropriate spoon or spork and bowl. Mornings usually consist of either oatmeal, toast, yogurt or a banana. All of which, he can self-feed. Sort of. Foods that are thicker (yogurt is not thick enough, obviously, so I have a mess to clean up everytime) and in cubes or bite size pieces are all easy for my Little Man to feed himself. At lunch or dinner he loves pasta like penne or rotini because he can pick those up easily with his own spoon or spork. Picking up food with his fingers is his last resort, he tries over and over to pick the food up with his spoon which makes us laugh daily.
So here are our tips for letting your baby self feed:
- Use age appropriate utensils for baby to self feed
- Give thicker foods like oatmeal for spoon feeding practice
- Use small bite sized pieces of food (like pasta) for fork feeding practice
- Remove clothing – it is easier to wipe down a naked baby
- Have fun and remember they are learning – don’t worry too much about messes!
Stories From The Bright Side
As parents, we all have funny feeding stories revolving around our children. I remember when my daughter picked her nose and placed a booger in her Papa’s mouth so fast, he didn’t have time to react. {Gross, I know!} This is why Happy Family is running“Stories from the Bright Side” – a campaign that shines a humorous light on food and feeding challenges that parents have through sharing funny stories told by top bloggers that are then acted out by improv troupe the Upright Citizen’s Brigade.
We all are in the same boat, aren’t we. Parents have a tough but often funny job. Why don’t you head over to the Happy Family Facebook page and upload your own funny feeding story so others can laugh with you. You can also find other parent’s entries as well to laugh with. One funny feeding story will get a $20K reward towards their child’s college education!
About Happy Family
Launched on Mother’s Day 2006, and founded and operated by moms, Happy Family™ is the first organic brand to offer a complete line of nutrient-rich foods for babies’, toddlers’, and kids’ growing bodies. Constantly innovating, Happy Family has been a pioneer in the industry, adding extra nutrition to its products—like Salba, the super chia, probiotics, and Choline for brain health—whenever possible. Happy Family believes that every baby deserves to be a happy baby. With every product sold, the company supports Project Peanut Butter, a nonprofit that feeds starving children in Malawi, Mali and Sierra Leone.
Connect With Happy Family
To find Happy Family products check out the Store Locator. Also don’t forget to print this $0.50/1 Happy Family Organic product coupon when you shop!
Disclosure: This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Happy Family blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.
