How to Get Your Baby to Eat Solids

If you have merely started solids and are non sure how to go about it, check out our class videos on starting solids, babe-led weaning and responsive spoonfeeding and consider downloading our Starting Solids bundle.

What to do when baby won't touch food

There are many reasons why a child may not be interested in eating, but what do y'all exercise when babies or toddlers aren't interested in even touching their nutrient?

Chase the why

If a infant is non eating, they are trying to communicate something. For some babies, they simply might non have the involvement, skill, or desire to consume at that moment; for others, it may exist more complicated given their history (reflux, a bad gag, negative associations with the highchair, etc.) Information technology's imperative to listen to baby's cues in any of these situations while guiding them to learn.

The most important thing you can do is bringcalm confidence to the tabular array and believe that baby can learn the skills for eating. In other words, stay at-home and don't give up!

If babe is 6 months sometime or younger

You've done all the reading about starting solids. You lot have the highchair, bib, and y'all know what food you want to introduce commencement. And and then, in the blink of a photographic camera, at the meridian of your anticipation, your bubble bursts. Baby doesn't bring a unmarried matter to their mouth.

Or perhaps you lot started with spoon feeding and decided to make the switch to finger food. You cutting the food just right, set the repast only then, but instead of enjoying it, baby doesn't touch a affair.

At half-dozen months of historic period or younger, babies are oft simply not ready. Evaluate whether infant is truly ready for solids (see our page on readiness or bank check out our video) and brand certain infant is truly meeting all of the developmental signs earlier starting solid food.

Consider waiting a calendar week or ii.If baby is less than or around 6 months old and showing signs of readiness, but doesn't engage with food offered, try not to worry besides much. Many babies at this historic period are just not cognitively ready to cocky-feed, even if they are showing the motor milestones for readiness. This is normal.

Fifty-fifty with spoon-feeding, many babies volition turn away from the spoon when they are not prepare. This is communication proverb they are non interested or ready yet. Listen to what babe is telling you.Sometimes the youngest eaters just need some other week or 2 to wrap their heads around eating.

Avoid feeding schedule changes.Encouraging or pushing baby to eat before they are gear up tin can lead downward a bumpy road of nutrient refusal. At this age, avert feeding schedule changes to make infant hungry plenty to try solid foods. Remember: Baby'due south primary nutrition should be from breast milk or formula until 12 months of age. Plus, an overly hungry young baby is not primed to learn. Babies who are too hungry and don't yet accept the skills to cocky-feed will terminate up melting downwards at the table. (Cue screaming for the chest or canteen.)

Let babe sentry y'all eat, often. Fifty-fifty earlier you lot start solids, bring babe to the table. Pull up the bouncing chair so baby tin can watch you consume or sit down babe on your lap. Channel a dinner party vibe—laugh, grinning, and have a nice meal then baby can run into the fun of eating. When infant is ready to start solids, pull baby's highchair upward to the tabular array or put baby on your lap while Yous eat. Babies acquire from watching the states, and many young babies need more modeling to realize that nutrient goes in our mouths.

Get baby's attention. Tap their highchair tray or table with your fork or finger, phone call their name, and make heart contact. Once they are paying attending, bring the food to your oral fissure and grinning. This is very important with spoon-fed babies. Spoon-fed babies larn that nutrient comes on a spoon, it'due south put in their rima oris, and swallowed. Picking up food with their hands and bringing information technology to their mouth is an entirely different story—the concept that hands bring food to the rima oris is brand new. Run across the tips below for helping baby selection up and bring food to their mouth or dive in to our video on transitioning from spoon feeding to self-feeding.

Talk to baby and describe the nutrient: "This is delicious spaghetti with Grandma Mary's famous sauce! It's tangy and sugariness at the same fourth dimension!"

Model with your oral fissure open. Throw your manners out the window and chew with your mouth open so babe can run across what you are doing. When y'all consume, signal to your stomach and say: "The spaghetti went all the way to my abdomen!" Yous may experience a bit silly, but modeling is a game-changer for many young babies.

Go BIG with food sizes. It may seem counter-intuitive, simply for young babies, bigger is improve. Watch how a 6- to 9-calendar month-old babe interacts with toys, and you'll notice they utilise all of their fingers and the palm of their hand to grasp things. Bigger pieces of food are much easier to grasp, hold, and command. Learning to chew is challenging piece of work, and we desire to help brand everything else (i.e., reaching and grasping) equally easy as possible. A baby struggling with a smaller piece of food may surrender because they don't have the skill to grab it notwithstanding.

Bigger pieces of food are too easier for baby to manage in their mouth. The encephalon more than readily notices and registers large pieces. Immature babies are more likely to explore and move big pieces around in the mouth successfully.

You desire to provide just the right amount of challenge. Bigger pieces of food provide baby with a fun challenge only aren't also difficult to reach, grasp, and movement around with their tongue. When tasks are too hard, babies may give up and (in their own way) say, "No, thanks!" Fine motor control improves as infant gets closer to 9+ months, and they'll start using their thumb and alphabetize finger to pinch smaller items. This is a great time to size down in food so they can utilize their new skill.

If baby is nine months old or older

If baby is just starting to self-feed after a period of spoon-feeding, they might non know what to do with food in forepart of them. Remember, they've been practicing a specific eating skill (accepting a spoon) and need to learn a different way to eat.

Brand sure baby comes to the tabular array happy. If infant has a meltdown the minute you put them in the highchair, start in that location. Accept a break from the highchair and serve a repast with baby sitting on your lap or have a picnic on the living room floor. Some babies love a little excitement on the style to the table—try dancing, twirling, or itch! Set infant up for success and offset the meal happy.

Model your daily eating routine. This is specially important if you are transitioning from spoon-feeding to infant-led weaning. Call up: Everything baby is doing is a new skill, and they need to see how information technology'due south done to sympathise meliorate.

Imitate infant's facial expressions and encourage them to imitate you. Watching to learn is a huge part of infancy. Think about it this style—the more than y'all enjoy something, the more interest your baby has in it. The more you expect at your phone, the more baby wants to play with it, correct? Enjoy eating your meal, and baby volition desire to participate in eating, too!

Bring baby's attention to the food. Tap baby'south tray near the food to make certain they are visually attention to information technology, telephone call their name, and say, "Look!" Sometimes a uncomplicated, unmarried cue is all a baby needs to acknowledge and touch on food on a tray. Note: While not mutual, a lack of sustained attending can be a sign of autism. If baby is not attention to the food later repeated attempts to become their attention to it, consult your wellness intendance professional.

Offer food vertically in the air.Go far like shooting fish in a barrel for babe to choice the nutrient upwards by offering information technology to them in the air. You tin can besides try standing nutrient upright to make it easier for baby to grasp. (Such every bit banana sticks in yogurt with the banana standing upright.) If baby is all the same non interested, try taking a bite of the food yourself and then offering that piece to baby in the air. If you lot offer something like yogurt, oatmeal, or other puree-type foods, you can load the spoon and hand it to your child or hold the spoon in your mouth and lean toward baby to grab.

Offering the food from your own mouth.Put your manners bated and try this tried-and-true feeding therapy trick: hold the food between your teeth, lean toward baby, and let them take the food out of your oral cavity with their hands.

Recall: Step one is for infant to collaborate with the food; if they are reaching for and/or grasping the food items, y'all're making progress! Patience is fundamental. Nosotros don't expect babies to ringlet from tum to dorsum consistently the start fourth dimension they try. Likewise, we don't wait babies to eat consistently in the kickoff, either. Their principal nutrition source remains chest milk or formula until 12 months of age. Any table food they eat is a plus.

Bring infant to the tabular array a bit hungry. Consider offering chest or bottle one.v-2 hours before mealtime, and so they have a bit more than hunger drive to consume the food on their tray.

Nevertheless, if a nine- to 12-month-former baby tries to eat just appears frustrated and irritable at the table, information technology could be a sign that they are too hungry and desire nutrient but take nevertheless to hone their fine motor or chewing skills—cue the hanger. This could be a sign that baby needs an appetizer, and so they come to the table with a desire to swallow, ready to learn and build skill, but aren't hangry. Consider a small-scale breast or bottle-feed 30-45 minutes before mealtime or offer easy-to-swallow food to first the meal.

For toddlers 12 months former and upwards

Here are some additional tips to encourage food exploration and new skills for toddlers resistant to touching foods or who have been spoon-fed and are now transitioning to self-feeding table foods.

Practice makes perfect. Toddlers acquire by doing. They may need boosted practice scooping with their hands and using containers. You tin encourage and practise these skills by scooping water with cups in the bathtub or scooping dry items like rice or beans with spoons or their hands.

Allow them practice feeding you. If the kid is okay touching food but won't feed themselves, enquire them to feed you. Bring their attention to a piece of food, mitt it to them, and ask them to put it in your mouth. If you have pets (and feel comfortable with niggling hands almost the pup'south mouth), ask the toddler to feed the canis familiaris.

Pretend play! Feed blimp animals or dolls and explain what's happening: "You fed bunny a piece of cheese! It'due south going to go all the way to her belly and aid her grow big and strong!"

Model and narrate more. Toddlers notwithstanding learn a lot from watching and modeling. Demonstrate feeding yourself and explicitly verbalize what's happening: "Mama is putting this assistant in her oral cavity! And and so she'due south going to chew it with her teeth! Watch!" Then bespeak from your mouth to your abdomen and explicate: "The banana is going all the style to my belly to assistance me feel strong!"

Engage in sensory play exterior of mealtime. If the child does non want to affect certain textures (i.e., wet, cold, sticky), try sensory play outside of mealtime. Go for finger paints, shaving cream, or slime. If texture abstention happens with more than than simply food, consider talking to a pediatrician. An occupational therapist trained in sensory integration may exist able to aid.

Explore different shapes, sizes, and props.Some toddlers respond well to making food more than fun. Try serving food with a toothpick or cut nutrient in a fun shape. Mango in bite size pieces on a plate may seem totally irksome… but mango on toothpicks? Fun!

Cease spoon-feeding.If a toddler knows they will always exist spoon-fed to encounter their hunger need, they are less likely to endeavor feeding themselves, which is more challenging for them to practice. Tips for this transition:

• Commencement meals slightly earlier than usual so they are hungry but non starving or hangry.
• Use the modeling tips higher up and model for them to feed themselves.
• If you are confident theycan chew foods, consider not spoon-feeding them and see if they self-feed. If they choose not to eat, allow them to learn that hunger is a natural consequence if they don't feed themselves. This is age appropriate and should piece of work speedily. If y'all have whatsoever concerns, hash out a programme of activity with a feeding therapist or health care provider.
• Offer a snack that they can self-feed a picayune bit later on to help them solidify the skill.

For more support on transitioning babies and toddlers from spoon-feeding to self-feeding, see our video here.

If the child has not had the run a risk to learn how to chew foods and they appear to struggle with consistencies other than purees, consider talking to your pediatrician nigh a referral for feeding therapy with an occupational or spoken communication therapist to help build chewing skills.

When baby will impact everything simply moisture foods like yogurt

Will baby or toddler interact with everything except wet textures like yogurt, oatmeal, or sauces? Some kids are more than sensitive to this type of texture and may need help learning to tolerate it.

Practice cocky-feeding with a spoon. This is a skill babies and toddlers need for life, and so practicing with pre-loaded spoons or scooping with utensils are peachy options. Offering the spoon but don't put it in baby's mouth: stop a few inches away from their confront and let baby achieve for the spoon to pull it toward their mouth.

Provide opportunities for sensory play. At that place are many ideas online for "sensory bins" for babies and toddlers, only consider playing in wet grass, painting with ketchup, making edible slime or finger paints, or playing with sponges in the bathroom or at a h2o table.

Permit baby feed yous. Volition they affect the food to bring information technology toyouroral cavity? This tin be an excellent gateway to touching the food for themselves.

Avoid over-cleaning their hands. Sometimes when babies and toddlers know that messy play ends with a wipe down, they birthday avoid the activity anticipating the ending. It'southward tough watching kids get super messy, but in that location's a massive benefit in letting them get sticky. Make clean-up fun and lighthearted. Go to the sink, turn the h2o on, and have a splashing political party.

When to seek help

Generally, a lack of interest in touching food is non typically a concern; it'due south oft just a sign the child needs more exposure and exercise. However, consult your pediatric health care professional if the kid is:

• Gagging, retching, or vomiting at the sight or affect of food.
• Extremely sensitive to certain textures (like moisture, viscous, etc.). They may demand extra assist with sensory processing. Talk to your health intendance professional for a referral for occupational therapy to aid them better regulate their torso.

• Non gaining weight well despite drinking breast milk or formula.

• Not consumingwhatsoever solid foods after viii months of age. Note: Spoon-fed babies and toddlers in transition to finger food and self-feeding may have a menstruum of food refusal. Run into our video for tips on how to bridge this transition.

• Not accepting any chewable foods after a couple of weeks of exposure to solid foods (nine months or older). If baby is younger than 9 months and not accepting chewable foods, employ the tips above for baby'southward age and requite it a bit more time.

• Swallows all chewable food whole without attempting to chewand is 12 months quondam or older.

• Not attending to the food on the tray after attempts to become their attending (calling their name, tapping the tray, etc.). While not common, a lack of sustained attention can be a sign of autism.

Mind the division of responsibility

No affair the age of babe, retrieve the sectionalisation of responsibility. There are sure things you lot can control and sure things you cannot:

You control what foods the child is offered, when nutrient is offered, and how yous show upwardly to the repast (i.eastward., your attitude).

Your child is in control of whether they swallow and how much.

No matter how difficult you endeavor, you lot cannot command if or how much your child will swallow.

Trying to control their intake is a tiresome spiral downwardly a rabbit hole of picky eating and food refusal. Endeavour one or two strategies at the meal, and if your child is yet not interested,savor your ain meal, and move on. Tomorrow is another twenty-four hour period.

How you prove up to the meal is much more of import than you probably realize. The literature on picky eating shows that parental business organization almost intake and pushing babies to eat when they are not interested consistently leads to picky or selective eating after. ^{ane 2 3 4}

So, take a deep jiff and try to have fun every bit kiddo instinctively fumbles through learning to eat.

If you are concerned about your child'southward weight gain or ability to eat table foods, talk to your kid's pediatrician. A feeding therapist can provide new ideas and additional support.

Reviewed past:

Kary Rappaport, OTR/L, MS, SCFES, IBCLC

Kimberly Grenawitzke, OTD, OTR/L, SCFES, IBCLC, CNT

1. Emmett, P. M., Hays, N. P., & Taylor, C. M. (2018). Antecedents of picky eating behaviour in young children. Appetite, 130, 163–173.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.07.032
2. Cardona Cano, S., Hoek, H. Due west., & Bryant-Waugh, R. (2015). Picky eating. Current Stance in Psychiatry, 28(6), 448–454.
3. Steinsbekk, Southward., Bonneville-Roussy, A., Fildes, A., Llewellyn, C. H., & Wichstrøm, L. (2017). Child and parent predictors of picky eating from preschool to school historic period. International Periodical of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Action, 14(1).
4. Cole, Due north. C., An, R., Lee, S.-Y., & Donovan, South. K. (2017). Correlates of picky eating and food neophobia in young children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 75(7), 516–532

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