Good Toddler Food

[lrmillen]

Hi all you parents...

My DS (1 1/2) is about to impart on a very messy stage in life I think...eating with a fork and spoon.

How am I supposed to teach him this and what foods are the best to start with?

I've been putting this off even though he's definitely ready. Some things I just wish would come naturally!!!

 

[MHopkins2]

Anything that's easy to clean up!!!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I just let DD get messy and eventually she got the hang of it. She also refused to let me feed her with a spoon or fork. She had to do it herself.

She really liked using a spoon to eat yogurt from the yogurt cup. Mashed potatoes are a favorite. I put everything in a bowl though. That way there is an edge to push the food against.

Just let him have at it!

edit to add-We used Yoplait Whips.

 

[momm2four]

There used to be a yogurt (I'm thinking it was Yumsters, but could be wrong) that was very thick and clung to the spoon very well. It said on the package that it was very thick, so if the name is wrong, you should still be able to find it.

Lori P.

 

[mommytotwo]

My daughter is the same age as your son and she hasn't even eatten bottled baby food since she didn't like it, so she has been eatting table food all along.
Some of her favorites are-bananas, pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs...
If you are going to put your son on a high chair or a booster seat, spread some newspaper on the bottom so that when his food falls, you can just throw the newspaper away and not have that much of a mess to clean up.
Oh, she also loves noodles, but that's a messy one to clean up.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

You are obligated as a parent to give him spaghetti with lots of sauce, so that you can take a picture.

Lori

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I also wanted to add that DD liked to use the yogurt at "lotion."

 

[pumba]

I put a few tablespoons of the foods he is eating in a bowl and I keep the rest myself......he has either a spoon or a mini fork ....and I do too.....this way I can tell he is eating some too.....always helped if you keep putting food on his fork or spoon too......sometimes I would swap my filled spoon with his empty spoon or fork.....works well......

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I just cut up whatever the rest of the family is having into very small pieces and put it on his tray. He sees his older brothers using spoons and forks, and he'll now occassionaly give it a try. We never really did much of the canned baby food. It just looks gross to me.

In the mornings, I still spoon feed him oatmeal. He's had his own spoon since he was about 6 months old. It only took a month or so until he was trying to dip his spoon into the oatmeal and put it into his mouth.

At 13 months now, he is still REALLY messy.