My 10-month-old with tomato sauce all over her face!

1. Tell your baby the name of each food you are offering. This simple step goes a long way to establishing a healthy relationship with food. Your baby deserves to know what each food is. You might not think a six-month-old baby could understand what you mean when you say “peas,” but say it often enough and the baby will start to associate that delicious green food with the word “peas” and might even get excited with anticipation when you say it! As silly as it might sound to your ears, it’s helpful to say at various points throughout the meal, “These are peas.” When your baby shows approval, “Oh, you like peas!” And when your baby opens wide for more, you affirm, “Peas are yummy.” Telling your baby what each food is shows respect and builds trust. Speaking positively about a food — “Peas are yummy” — becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It teaches the child, “My parent just told me this is a good food, and I can believe it!” It can be helpful to use the term “yummy” for objects (food) your child is allowed to put in his or her mouth, and “yucky” for objects (inedible items) your baby is not allowed to put in his or her mouth. My 10-month-old daughter knows to spit out anything I declare “yucky.”

2. Serve whole foods. Boxed baby cereals and jarred baby foods are conveniences, not necessities. Factor in the additional cost and the potential reduction in flavor and nutrients, and such foods are not really all that “convenient.” It does not get much easier than mashing a banana or an avocado. Serve your family foods that can be easily modified for the baby, and you’ve made feeding your baby simple and fun. Having oatmeal for breakfast? Baby can have that too! How about baked sweet potatoes as a side at dinner for your family? Just mash up the potato or break it into bits for the baby to pick up and eat.

3. Allow your baby to self-feed. Babies love to learn how to pick up tiny steamed broccoli “trees” they can feed to themselves! When babies feed themselves, they control how much or how little they eat. Even when babies do not yet have much hand control, you can pre-load a spoon for them and help them guide the spoon to their mouths. Remember, it’s a learning opportunity and not something that needs to be forced by you. These early solid food feedings are far more for experimentation and socialization than for nutrition.

4. Allow your child to make a gigantic mess. I can’t say it any more plainly. Babies need to be able to make a mess at the table. I believe that the root of many food issues is control. If you start trying to control the mess, that can lead to the baby trying to control what he or she will consume. Invest in a big bib (try my free instructions for big bibs with extra long ties or crew neck over-the-head pullover bibs), or strip the baby down naked in a warm room. Babies can get a lot of joy out of playing with their food — and that’s exactly what you want. Yes, playing with food, because ultimately the goal is for your child to enjoy meal times. The first experiences should be fun and relaxed, not anxious and controlled. Food washes off skin and out of clothing, and any time that you spend cleaning your baby, the table, and the floor (and the walls!) will be made up for later when your child eats a nice variety of foods. The time for teaching table manners comes when your child is no longer a baby.

5. Make meals a social event. Babies enjoy being with the rest of the family at the table. They learn from watching you eat, and they benefit from the social interaction. When you share a meal with your baby you have the opportunity to model the behavior you want to see from your child. Take turns with the other adults at the table when it comes to helping the baby eat (these feedings that are not at the breast are perfect for dads to get in on feeding the baby!) Soon enough your baby will become quite good at self-feeding and you will all get to enjoy your meal at the same time!

What are your tips for helping a baby to enjoy solid food? Do you agree or disagree with the tips I have shared so far?

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