Why is spoon feeding important?
Did you know that spoon feeding is an important prerequisite to your baby’s production of the sounds /b/ /p/ /m/? Did you also know there is a RIGHT and a WRONG way to spoon feed? Yes, really!
Scraping: Scraping food off your baby’s lip is NOT a natural way to spoon feed. It’s okay, we have all done it, but no better time for change then the beginning of a New Year! Scraping food off your baby’s lip takes away an essential opportunity for his/her little lips to MOVE. When you scrape food off baby’s lips, they learn to sit passively when spoon feeding instead of ACTIVELY engaging essential muscles. Think about out, what do your lips do when you say /b/ /p/ /m/? They come together! And…… What happens when your baby cleans off his spoon? Your little one’s lips come together. That’s all we are trying to promote, it really is quite simple when you break it all down!
When first starting out, shallow spoons are best as they are easiest for your little one. Many parents make the mistake of using a spoon that is too deep. These are my favorite spoons to start with
https://talktools.com/products/easy-spoon?variant=28452672585
both of these spoons are almost completely flat, meaning your baby won’t have to work as hard to move his or her lips. As he/she improves, you can slowly progress with a deeper and deeper spoon
Try this: with your nice and shallow spoon, present the spoon laterally then place it resting on top of your baby’s tongue. Wait patiently for your baby to try and close his/her lips around the spoon. If your baby isn’t closing his/her lips around the spoon, wait a bit little longer!!!! Sometimes they key is just learning to provide your baby extra time to learn to do things themselves. If you realize your baby is not independently engaging his/her lisp to clean the spoon, use your free hand to pinch baby’s lips together and gently pull the spoon out (but not up). This is teaching your baby to clean his/her spoon all by themselves, no scraping necessary!
Don’t be afraid to be Silly: One of the best things you can do is eat a long with your baby. First you are showing them that food is YUMMY! BUT, you are also modeling the motor behavior you want them to engage in. Modeling spoon feeding is a great way to teach spoon feeding. Simple, I know! While you are at it, make some of those beautiful sounds you are dying to hear.
Now Say MOMMA: Helping your baby properly spoon feed may take a little bit of extra work. You may have to get a little creative with the spoon you use, it may require some adjusting, and you may end up being a bit silly, but it will be well worth it when those beautiful /b/ /p/ /m/ sounds come in and you have an independent feeder on your hands.
We are all trying to hear our littles ones say “momma” sooner right?
For more information and spoon feeding tips check out https://www.arktherapeutic.com/blog/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-spoon-feed/