Make Room for Your Little Guest at Your Table
Your 1 year old baby can now sit at the table with you and eat on his/her own. All you have to do is to watch his/her happy and cute behavior.
Having your baby sit at the same table with you also helps your baby socialize and develop eating habits.
Here are some practical ways to teach your baby table manners:
- You can adjust your meal times according to the feeding time of the new member of your table.
- When your baby sleeps well, he or she will enjoy eating at the table.
- You can remove the tray in front of the high chair and adjust its height to the table. This way your baby will feel that they belong at the table.
- Before getting your baby used to eating at the table, you can buy fun, colorful plates, forks and spoons that are age-appropriate and will attract his/her attention.
- During the acclimatization period, your baby may not want to eat or may be cranky, so be careful not to force them to eat.
- As he gets used to eating on his own, he will make some mess. Let him eat with his hand, spill it on the floor, make a mess. There is a solution for all that, isn't there? It's worth it for him to enjoy his food and learn to eat on his own.
- Instead of giving rewards to get your baby to eat, encouraging other people you eat with (such as siblings, fathers, elders) will work better.
- Your baby is a good listener. You can tell him/her that he/she is growing up and can eat at the table just like you.
- You can take care not to give foods that will cut his appetite between meals. Thus, he can get used to eating at the table more easily because he will be hungry.
What can be considered when transitioning to the family table?
How about learning a secret that will help your baby eat with appetite: A happy family table. When your baby is at a happy and peaceful family table, he or she may be more eager to eat.
There are some small things you can pay attention to for your baby's health as well as their happiness:
- Even if you eat the same food as your baby, you can make sure that his/her food is unsalted and low-fat.
- Mealtime is also playtime for babies. You can let your baby examine, explore and taste the food.
- Your baby is watching you with curiosity. You can be careful to remove acidic or sweet drinks from the table and not to consume them around your baby.
It is up to you to help your baby develop healthy eating habits. How? It's quite easy; you eat healthy and your baby, who already likes to imitate you, will follow suit.
