Feeding a Toddler; How to Survive the Experience

Parenting is harder than climbing Mount Everest!  Before you have your first child there are so many things to think about; the pregnancy, the labour, the birth, nappies.  The whole thing is very daunting.  Unfortunately it does not get easier, but you do, however, get better and better at coping.

Feeding starts almost from the first contact you have with your child.  If you are breastfeeding, then many hospitals will encourage breast feeding as first contact between mum and baby.For some new parents this is quite straightforward, others have to work much harder at mastering breast feeding, but whichever your route you feel pleased when they are happily feeding.

A couple of the areas which make parents smile, when they go well, are sleeping and feeding.  So having mastered breast feeding, or bottle, what happens when solids are introduced?  There are many books written to help you understand feeding a toddler, but do you really need any of these?

There is more than one way to begin feeding a toddler.  The most common route, especially for first babies is to puree foods until the parents feel that the child is ready to progress.Many second children are not given this luxury and are simply offered what ever is going on their big sibling’s plate.  This has now been named ‘baby led weaning’ and has become a popular way to start feeding a toddler.

Many parents will tell you that there first child was a difficult eater, and it was such a joy when their second child took to food fabulously and ate everything.  Could this be because it was presented in a more appealing way and with less trepidation?  Before weaning their first child most parents go on a baby weaning course, read far too many books and speak to other parents to find out tit bits.  With subsequent children there is no time for courses and books, it is not that parents know everything after one child, they simply better understand what is important and how to manage their own nerves.  Or they have realized that feeding a toddler should not be a nerve wracking experience, but a pleasure.

If you want to try feeding a toddler with out the puree food then have a go.  Many parents will look sideways at you, but over time you will realize that your child can feed themselves before children given puree, and they will understand about chewing and they will learn not to put so much in their mouths that they can’t chew.  Feeding a toddler is about teaching you child these important things, it is not just about getting different tastes and textures into them successfully.  Perhaps we should not be taught about ‘feeding a toddler’, perhaps it should be renames ‘teaching a toddler to feed’ and then we may all get there a little quicker.