by Amelia Bines

Created on: April 06, 2009

Many parents spend months wondering when their baby will take the next step in her eating journey: Self-feeding. All babies begin self-feeding at different ages. Some show signs of wanting to feed themselves at the early age of 6 months while others show no interest in even reaching for food until closer to one year old. No matter what your baby's age when self-feeding begins, chances are, it will radically change your child's eating behavior. Your little angel may go from a slow and content eater to a ravenous, "I can't get enough of this" eater. Your gung-ho baby food chugger may balk at the new solid foods placed on the high chair tray. What is a parent to do when self-feeding leads to picky eating?

Picky eating is one of the most common concerns amongst parents of toddlers. It can be caused by several factors and can go on for many months. Parents often notice that a new found dislike for certain foods shows up at the same time as their baby or toddler is beginning to self-feed. Rest assured, this is very normal. Let's look at a few reasons as to why your child may suddenly be refusing to eat.

TEXTURE

The leap from pureed baby foods to lumpy solid foods is very hard for many babies to make. While some infants love the new and interesting texture of solids, others find it uncomfortable and confusing. When the first few introductions to solids go less than smoothly and lead to gagging or choking, then it is very understandable why your baby is refusing to try anything further.

Perhaps your baby is an expert eater when spoon-fed the lumpy solids, but refuses to feed the same foods to herself. Often times the problem may lie in a child that does not enjoy the feel of the food in her fingers and on her hands. For these sensitive kids, keep self-feeding adventures as clean and dry as possible. Instead of softened fruit pieces, try dry cereal or small crackers. These will be less stimulating to her senses and easier to grasp. As she becomes better at self-feeding these foods, try to introduce the "icky" feeling foods again. As she becomes able, introduce toddler spoons and sporks to her. Once she learns that these tools help her feed herself without having to touch the food, it may easily soothe away her frustrations.

TASTE

It is almost unheard of for any baby, toddler, child, or even adult to enjoy every food placed before him. Babies naturally are cautious of what tastes they enjoy. Bitter foods like vegetables can trigger the natural instinct to push the food out.

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