How do I teach her to take bites off something and not put the whole thing in her mouth!

Mel - posted on 12/30/2010

I had the same problem when my bubba first start eating food.. All i did was got her attention and give her a toast crust and show her and make mmmmmmm noises.. Lol.. it's amazing how they just copy and watch you.. i gave her a pizza crust one day and she bit and pulled all by herself!! now i just let her know what can go in her mouth or what needs to go in her hand to chew on.. stuff i give her.. hopefully it helps alittle.. Good luck =)

Adrian - posted on 12/30/2010

i know this sounds bad, but i just let my daughter take too big of bites, eventually they learn. just be careful about watching them when they are first figuring out how to. what my daughter did was try to shove all the food in her mouth, then she started tearing pieces off, now she takes bites... it's a slow process, and different babies learn at different rates

Kimberly - posted on 12/29/2010

In the begining I cut all her food up into small pieces, but then I started buying the gerber puffs. I would put them onto her tray and she would start to feed herself (the puffs are small) then I introduced her to the mum-mum crackers. They are thin and big enough for her to hold in her hand and she started to take small bites herself, and learned on her own. These crackers are a great way to start out, because they disolve in their little mouths so they can't choke on them.
My little one just turned 10 months and she is feeding herself pretty well now. She can hold a piece of bread and bite into it. I still watch her, and make sure she doesn't bite too much off, but she has done very well. :0 )
Good luck to you and your little one!

Jessica - posted on 12/27/2010

I watched my son closely (still do), and gave him a piece of food, he shoved, choked and watched me, then imitated. try taking smaller bites yourself or taking bite sized things and making them into a couple of bites instead of one. my son copies my bites and when I forget to do this he shoves. they want to eat what you eat how you eat it... including bite size and chewing. I have taken to chewing with my mouth open sometimes to show him... and he has started chewing better too. He has even started trying to use a spoon.

Shayna - posted on 12/23/2010

My 10month old son was the same so I went back to breaking things into little pieces, but now I can give him a slice of cheese or toast cut into fingers and he's somehow taught himself to take little bites instead of shoving the whole thing in his mouth

Alice - posted on 12/21/2010

brake things into small peices and put it on her feeding tray and as u feel confident make them bigger cause she gradually will teach herself my son does the same thing and thats what i have been doing ecpecially with banana

Meranda - posted on 12/20/2010

well i think somethings come natural to these little ones. but just like brittany says guide it to her mouth, just enough that a bite is in there and hold her hand there and she will eventually bite down. i saw my daughter do it at 9 months old and was amazed. didnt show her how to do it. perhaps she saw another child do it at day care.

Danielle - posted on 12/19/2010

Break them up into smaller pieces. My little girl loves cheez-it crackers, but I have to break it half in order for her to eat it or else she'll choke on a whole piece. Gerber graduates are fun and a great way for her to pick up the pieces on her own and eat it.

Robyn - posted on 12/19/2010

Give her a baby cookie.

Karen - posted on 12/18/2010

Always break up whatever food you are giving into small enough pieces that she can shove it into her mouth. Tear apart bread, bananas, peach slices, whatever you feed her that is too big to fit. For breakfast my girl gets a banana with her cheerios, but when I first handed her the banana cut in half, she shoved it whole into her mouth. From then on I slice. They learn how to feed themselves with grabbing bite sized food. One of the tricks we use here are those Gerber graduate lil crunchies. They are small puffed grain snacks and they are super tasty. She gets so excited when she sees me pull out the tin.

Brittany - posted on 12/17/2010

Well how i taught my daughter, not saying it will work with you, is by guiding her hand and showing her how to do it. I would put my face next to hers and kept making her look at me until i had her attention and showed her, quite dramatically, how to take bites and then showed her how to swallow it by making a gulping noise and showing her my empty mouth afterwards. It took her awhile to catch on, but she did. FYI it takes A LOT of patience and trying. But they will learn. :)