Self-feeding

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”
—Denis Waitley

Encouraging self-feeding fosters independence and is an important skills for infants and toddlers. Children learn to bring food to their mouths using hands and utensils. It includes many skills, including hand eye coordination,  a pincer grasp, sequencing, oral motor skills, trunk control and proper posture. There is also a sensory component to self-feeding in terms of texture, smell, and taste. Self-feeding in children increases their independence, improves their confidences and develops their motor skills. It can also play a role in socio-emotional well-being in terms of sharing, cooperation with peers, shared meal times and interactions. Getting messy and allowing your infant to play with food can do wonders in their overall development. It allows for sensory play, introduces the concept of cause and effect, allows them to get comfortable around food, helps them develop the motor skills required to self-feed, all of which will help your little one thrive. Playing with their food can transition infants into toddlers who are more open to trying a variety of food thats they may not have before. Each child learns at their own pace. At little superstars daycare, we encourage play with food for our infants while working on the physical and cognitive skills for our toddlers that are required in order to self-feed.