Cutlery or finger food? How to propose food in self-weaning
Introduction
In self-weaning, is it better to use a spoon and other utensils or the finger food approach? If you are wondering about this, this article is for you.
Since many parents are wondering how to propose food in self-weaning , I created the content which, as you can see, is preceded by an index thanks to which you can, if you want, delve deeper into the specific aspects simply by clicking on the titles of the individual paragraphs.
In the following lines, you will be able to discover lots of valuable information thanks to the advice of Doctor Federica Dell'Oro, nutrition biologist, author and protagonist of the video course "Practical, easy and stress-free self-weaning", a path that you can discover at the end of the paragraph.
For more information, I invite you to visit me also on Instagram on the profile @drsilva.com_official . Now enough chit chat: it's time to get into the heart of the action!
How to use cutlery in self-weaning?
Dr. Dell'Oro clearly reminds us in the video course: new parents who seek information on how to propose food in self-weaning and want to understand whether to give the child the opportunity to manipulate food or whether to offer him cutlery, often see the latter demonized.
The reason? The thought that their use is synonymous with a spoon-fed baby. As has been mentioned several times, one of the advantages of self-weaning concerns precisely the focus on the autonomy of the child.
The passivity that characterizes traditional weaning , during which the child does not actually have the possibility to understand what he is eating, nor to come into contact with sensations such as satiety, is not good.
This does not mean, however, demonizing cutlery. You can use it to offer food to your child , but in an intelligent way . It is necessary, for example, to think about the type of dish you bring to the table.
In the case of spaghetti with sauce, which is perfectly suited to the period in which the child masters the palmar grip , cutlery is not needed . In fact, the child can associate the intake of food with a manipulative experience.
However, the case of a meal consisting of rice and lentils is different.
In this situation, it may be necessary, for practical reasons, to use cutlery .
What matters is to always give the child the opportunity to touch the food, manipulate it and, if he wants, bring it to his mouth with his hands.
However, if you are offering dishes such as cream soups, their use, specifically the spoon, is essential.
New parents who, in general, intend to gradually introduce their little one to the use of cutlery, can preload the spoon, place it on the plate and wait for the child to want to pick it up and put the food in his mouth.
As is clear, even if there are external utensils, the child remains an active subject: in fact, it is he who decides what, if and when to eat.
