There are many steps to weaning. It can be a journey full of joy and tribulations. The first step is to allow your child to feel comfortable with food. Getting their hands messy with puddings, yogurts and whip cream! Crafts with food can be a fun motivating way to have your child explore food without feeling any pressure to eat it. We want your child to become friends with food.
It is a good idea to choose the foods your family enjoys such as gravies, almond butter or icecream. Short term goals are often stimulating an interest in food, long term goal is a nutritionally balanced diet.
Another step is to introduce food in a gentle way so the child feels comfortable and safe with eating. We hope as they touch the food some swipes of the food end up on their lips or in their mouth. You can then advance to placing small swipes of purée onto your child’s lips. Encourage your child to use a spoon by themselves. Messy eating leads to self -feeding.
There are a lot of tricks of the trade to encourage fluid intake and they don’t all include drinking from a cup. Popsicles can be one way to get some fluid being accepted especially on a warm day.
Weaning is a process that involves many emotions from stress to excitement. Be good to yourself. Each little step counts.
