I Can't Get Him to Eat from a Spoon

How often are you trying the spoon? Have you tried something more enticing in flavor for him? My daughter loves the mixed fruit "flavor" rice cereal. It's Gerber and I usually get it at Target. I mix it with a little diluted apple juice. Maybe give that a shot? I remember the frustrations of getting use to the spoon. My daughter took a few weeks to actually get the hang of it. Good luck!

I have a now 7-month old and when I first started introducing cereal to him, he was not interested at all!! He would take the cereal and spit it back out. I just kept trying and even let the daycare staff try and eventually he got the hang of it. Now, he LOVES to eat!! Good Luck!!

Give Jayden a spoon to hold and play with while you feed him from a spoon. that's the only way I got Mark to use a spoon. I had a separate bowl/plate with his food and I put some food in a bowl for him.

Do you have a special soft ended baby spoon? Or even a plastic one. Maybe the one you have hurt his gums.

He's a bit young for solids. I would give it another month at least. If he's still not interested, don't worry. He will eventually learn. My dd didn't really eat much baby food and started on table and finger foods around 8 or 9 monts. At 12 months she was still about 90% breastfed. She got about 7 teeth in in the month following her 1st birthday. After that her bf steadily decreased and her solid food intake proportionatly increased. Sometimes babies just need to do things in their own time. Good Luck!

As a Montessori teacher, we use 2 bowls on a tray and have the child spoon beans from one bowl to the next. Starting with dried lima beans to dried pinto to rice. This is like a project or work for them.They enjoy it so much. You can use different items for spooning like craft beads. They must be supervised in case they eat them. Do this "project"everyday... until they master it without spilling the beans on a tray. This is called Practical Life. You can get some ideas off the internet on Montessori Ways-Practical Life. We teach the use of tongs, tweezers,cleaning etc. Write me if you need more advice.
Your son is only 5 months and finger grasping individual cheerios is a good skill to start then start spooning exercises..

hello

give your baby a break for about 2 or 3 days and then try again my babys did this because they dont like the cereal with milk and then i give them with water and they eat.

Did your pediatrician recommend you feed your son solids at 3-5 months? If so, you may want to consider shopping pediatricians. At this age, your son needs nothing more than breast milk and/or formula to receive his nutrients. Filling his belly with cereal is going to actually replace the amount of nutrients he needs with solids he does not. Waiting until no earlier than 6 months and as late as 8 months to introduce cereal will better enable you to first get those vital nutrients in his system that he needs in infancy and also keep him eating baby food throughout his first year. This is important, too, because baby food is so much healthier for your baby than regular solid foods, which he should begin eating at one year ( Save cheerios and some of the other baby snack foods ). Hope this helps!

Try again in a month or two and make sure the cereal is mixed with a lot of breastmilk or formula so it's pretty milky. Each child will take to solids at their own pace - no need to rush because they get all their nutrients from breastmilk or formula. Don't force it if he's not ready or he will associate the spoon with a bad experience.

It used to be that babies began eating solid foods at 3-5 months. Most authorities now say that babies don't need solids until almost a year.

Ask your pediatrician.

I just went through this with my daughter, and she is just now taking food from the spoon (at 7 months). I just took a break for a few weeks, tried again, she refused, took a break again, tried again, etc until she finally came around. I think she just wasn't ready yet. My son took to food like a fish to water at 4 months so it was difficult to deal with such a different outcome, but in the end it all is working out. Good luck and be patient :-)!

Not sure how you are mixing it but the consistency should be more liquid than solid. Also it could be that he is starting to teeth and his gums are soar. One last thing, since you is used to playing with the sppon how about giving him his own spoon while you use another to feed him. Good Luck!

What we did -- 6 years ago -- was I put the spoon on the high chair. She played with it, but didn't want to use it until about 9 mths - 1 yr old. At this point, I wouldn't worry too much. You're little one is still learning and could be teething. Don't stess, he'll pick up on it. Make a game out of it. He'll use the spoon when he's ready...again. GOOD LUCK.

Are you trying to use an infant spoon with soft sides? If so, then maybe he's just not ready yet. Many doctors recommend holding off on solids until 6 mos. I might just stop for a week, then give it a try again. He'll be fine with just formula or breastmilk in the meanwhile.

5 months is quite young to be worried about what he is eating from a spoon. I did not even start giving my daughter solid foods until she was around 7 months. If he is resisting, I would stop trying to feed him with a spoon for a few days or weeks and then try again later. If you make too big of deal out of this, it could turn into a major eating issue later on.

Why is he on cereal or any food at only 5 months? He only needs breast milk or formula for the first 11-12 minths, not even watered down juice or water! Try him later when he is older.

had to laugh! I didn't even start my kids on solids until 6 mos.

Give him his own spoon all the time and both of you do spoon time!

Lighten up! Laugh. Give him finger food stuff to distract him and feed him bites when he's concentrating on other stuff.

Every baby is different and many don't have even a remote interest in food/solids (including cereal) until much later. Breastmilk/formula is more than sufficient now. Just give him a break and try again later.