11 Month Old Insisting on Self Feeding

Easy Solution - stop trying to feed him;-) My son was the same way starting about that time! He is now 17 months old. They can eat soft finger foods in small pieces after 9 months so just give him some and let him dig in! He will love it. Boys I guess just like to be more independent earlier than girls! Good luck!

34 yr old SAHM of 3 1/2 girl and 17 mo old boy.

Get 3 spoons.....

You keep one, put one in each of his hands.

Let him make a mess and you get a good bite in from time to time

Once he is full, let him play in it, he has to learn somehow.

Silly as it may sound but it worked for my now 12 month old, give hime and extra spoon not necisarily to use but just to hang on to.occasionlly dipping it in to make the motion seem valid and u control the actual spoon and feeding. That's what got us thru that phase. Lol. Hope it helps!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I say invest in some good quality cleaning cloths, find a drop cloth for the floor, and let him experiment. Eating at this age is not just about nutrition (in fact, he's not getting full nutrition from his food, he's still getting it from breastmilk or formula). It's also about experimentation and joy. Don't get upset if he throws a little food. This is how they learn. Let him go for it - he needs it in order to self feed. They are not born with the skills we currently have!

**ETA I just read other responses...PLEASE do not "spat his hand" if he flings a little food. I feel sorry for those children if they are not allowed to spill! Babies spill their food - it's part of learning. Most parenting books will tell you this. PLEASE don't punish him for doing what is natural, and necessary, in his learnin process. He will learn that food on the floor means it's not in his mouth - that will be incentive enough! And if you notice that he starts actually throwing his food (it seems by your request that he is just getting it all over the place as he tries to eat) that just means meal time is over and you remove him and clean up. Children WILL make messes and punishing them for it (at this age!!!) is not going to do them any good.

Let him.
My daughter NEVER let me feed her. Literally, she took the spoon from me the first time that we sat down to spoon feed. She was feeding herself efficiently at 9 months. I was at a friend’s house the other day and she was still spoon feeding her 26 month old. I nearly fell out of my chair. All of that time that poor women has spent spoon feeding. She could have written a novel. (or at least read one. LOL)
As long as you give him a plastic spoon/fork he will be just fine. At 11 months most of their nourishment should still be coming from formula or breast milk. This is practice time. Yes, you will have to clean up, but you will eventually anyway. A week our two and he will have it down to a science.

We let our little ones feed themselves, and it can get messy. We use bibs and give them a spoon or a fork and let them try (some of our children didn't mess with them, our littlest now won't eat without one...even something like a piece of pizza has to be cut up to be used with a fork...I'm amazed at how well he does) If he's hungry he works at eating. As soon as he starts to mess around or if we see he's finishing up, before he starts to sling food, we declare the meal finished and he's taken out of the chair and cleaned up thoroughly. On soupy items I try to serve him a minimal amount of the broth or other liquid. Good luck!

Wanda and Sarah have given great advice. He will get his nourishment through his formula or breast milk. Having a spoon in each hand may actually slow down the flinging while you slip spoonfuls into his mouth. Try not to give him large amounts of food.

I read a suggestion in a parents magazine about this issue. They said to purchase a shower curtain liner. Place it on the floor under the highchair. You can wipe off the messes. You can wash this in the washing machine with some bath towels to give it a thorough cleaning. Just hang it up over your shower curtain rod to dry.

At first I was taken aback by your question. You're still feeding him? I worked in several daycares prior to becoming a mom and we never fed our 11 month olds. Usually about 9-10 months they were entirely feeding themselves. By 15 months or so they could even use spoons and forks.

So when I have my own babies (I'm pregnant with #5) by about 9-10 months my babies were eating the same foods we were eating. Eating is never on the carpet but you can put a plastic sheet/table cloth down to make clean up quicker. I often take off clothes if it's warm enough but you can buy some pretty cool bibs that cover the clothes almost completely too (sleeves and all!)

If you want to serve soup make something with veggies, noodles and meat and just remove the solids from the liquid that he can feed himself.

If he starts throwing food tell him no and push his hand away from the food. If he does it again you can spat his hand or even take him down and tell him he's done. He'll learn that if he wants to keep eating he MAY NOT throw food. But yes, he will still drop food. My 6,5, 3 1/2 year olds still get food on the table and floor.

I agree with the other mom's. Strip him down and let him go to town. You can try to encourage him to keep it on the plate because everything you say now will matter later. But don't stress over it. He'll see your tension and react to that. Think about it like this. If you can't beat him at this game, join him. He's accomplishing independence. That's a good thing. He's needs that for life.

Just remember to take LOTS of pictures when he's wearing his meals. Later in life when he has girlfriends over that you can show the pictures will be your revenge for all the cleaning you have to do now.

Smiles!
Jen
http://www.mommysjoy.com

There is no way you are going to make it to four years old without regularly finding food slung all over the high chair and your floor. Finger food will get on the floor. You will find yogurt everywhere.

So, I say get the shower curtain liner, get a dog to help clean up the finger food, and let your son have fun learning to feed himself :)

Get a good, BIG bib. Put him on the kitchen tile with a sheet or drop cloth under him and let him go for it! There are several spoons made with looped handles. These make it easier for the little ones to handle. Yup! There's going to be a mess and possibly more food on the high chair, bib or floor than in him. (Ha ha!) But it sounds like he's ready!

I would help guide my son by gently holding his arm (not his hand) and letting him scoop the food up and then help guide it to his mouth. we sang as we did this or talked through it the whole way... and of course, cheered when he actually got it into his MOUTH!

Have fun with this! Your little guy is becoming independent! YEAH!!!!

Blessings,
M.

Strip him down and let it rip! It will be messy, but he wants to do it himself. Invest in the Clorox Anywhere cleaner for the high chair and get the tub ready to bathe baby when it's over. It's great that he is becoming independent and a huge milestone!! Congratulations and try to enjoy it.

We always went through several sets of silverware. Usually two for my son and one for me and another tucked away to use when he grabbed mine.

Now he's going through the phase of he will only eat when I feed him.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

What a great thing you little one is doing!!! Don't try and discourage it. I know it's more work for you (the cleaning up) but it is a wonderful developmental time for him. Let him be messy, it will only last a short time.

I'm with Heather on this one....whatever you decide, please do not "spat" your childs hand for being a child. Kids are messy. Plain and simple. Man, how I would hate to have a mother who would hit me for being a normal baby.
My mother made my kiddo bibs that cover her top half. They kind of look like we put a long sleeve shirt on her backwards (if that makes sense) If she uses her spoon, hands, whatever, is ok with us. How else are they supposed to learn? Good luck and happy cleaning!!!

Margaret :)

I never "fed" my kids or bought store bought baby food. I nursed them and then when we were eating as a family I would put them in their high chair and put some of what we were eating cut up small or smashed in front of the baby and always let them feed themselves. Then we slowly integrated them into using a spoon so they could be like the other big people when they were older.
I just put a bib on them and let them go for it. I wouldn't put large amounts of anything. Just a few bites at a time while we were eating our meal and if they threw or got wild with anything it was calmly taken away. The feel big and independent. Hope this helps.