Baby-led weaning is so much more than how their first foods are prepared and presented. It’s also about how we facilitate the development of their fine motor skills and co-ordination to aid long term independent feeding around the dinner table! Although you won’t need to look far to find a silicone feeding set, Babymoov have gone one step further, working with an Occupational Therapist to innovate the first age-adapted silicone feeding range which aids every stage, age and skill-set through weaning. Read on to discover your baby’s motor skills milestones!
6 months old: First experience of food
At 6 months your baby is starting to develop the first basic motor skills needed to engage with the weaning process - from interacting with foods to eating foods and using their hands to have a go at feeding themselves.These skills include:
- Ability to sit up unaided
- Sensitive gag reflex
- Put objects/foods to their mouth
- Begins to use a pincer grasp when picking things up (thumb and one finger)
- Brings hands together and claps them
12 months old: Gaining confidence with variety and texture while starting to combine movements
At 12 months your baby should be gaining confidence and experience with a wider variety of foods in greater textures, and should be able to manage more than 2 textures in one meal. They are also now trying to multitask with basic motor skills such as holding something and moving it from one place to another.At this stage their skills should include:
- Pick up small things with pincer grasp (thumb and index finger)
- Uses both hands and may show a preference
- Holds something palmar grasp (whole hand)
- Combines movements, eg. holding something and turning it around
24 months old: Confident independent feeding
Discover Eats Isy Individual Mealtime Accessories (6months+)
At 24 months+ your child is now becoming more precise with their hand-eye coordination and wrist movement. They are becoming more and more independent with their feeding at mealtimes. They are recognizing their preferences including a more efficient grasp of objects, foods and cutlery.Some of the skills they might be demonstrating at this age are:
- Uses one preferred hand consistently when doing activities or eating
- More precise co-ordination: Can thread large beads onto a string
- Holds a crayon with an improved tripod grasp
- Ability to move wrist while painting and drawing