Choosing which method to use when introducing solids to your baby might be confusing because there are now so many options available. Most parents make several feeding mistakes because of so many options. Parents can start their child off on pureed food, the baby-led weaning method, or a mix of the two. But over the years, we have found that regardless of the strategy employed by a parent, they always commit the same six faults, which make mealtimes far more difficult than they need to be. This article will teach you about these typical feeding mistakes and, more importantly, what you can do to prevent them.
Which Feeding Mistakes do New Parents Make?
It is common to face trouble while feeding your babies. But there are multiple suggestions given by expert doctors which you can follow to solve this problem. In the following, we give some feeding mistakes made by new parents so that you can avoid them:
First Feeding Mistake: Abandoning Solid Food Far Too Soon
Parents frequently think mistakenly that a baby’s facial expressions, tongue thrusts, or gagging on eating indicate that the meal is not to their liking. However, they fail to recognize that all infants behave this way when they first begin to consume solid foods. This is due to a few factors:
- Infants have a tongue push reflex that lasts for four to seven months.
When their lips or tongue are touched, this response is triggered. Their tongue automatically pulls out whatever is in their mouth when this response is aroused.
- The front and center of a baby’s tongue are the locations of a very potent gag reflex.
Every time food hits the tip or the center of their tongue, they become sick. They will eventually start to gag less when their gag reflex shifts to the rear of their tongue.
- When they try new foods, babies make amusing faces.
This is because the food is different from what they are used to in terms of warmth, texture, and flavor.
Henceforth, it is crucial to continue while keeping these factors in mind rather than noting any of these and stopping the process of introducing solids or refraining from giving them specific foods.
Second Feeding Mistake: Attempting to Contain the Mess
A mess is completely normal when you first start feeding a baby food. Messy mealtimes are intentional. Like adults, babies must first examine, smell, interact with, and touch the food before consuming it. It is quite unlikely that your baby will try a new food if you do not let and encourage them to take each of these steps.
It is important to allow your child to play with and engage with the food, even if it might be a messy procedure. They will crush it, wipe it on things, put it in their hair, drop it on the ground, and do various other things with it. It is crucial to keep in mind that this is not only natural but also vital. Avoiding the mess will make it more difficult to encourage your baby to eat and introduce foods to them.
However, consider purchasing a baby paint smock to limit the mess rather than trying to keep your child from drooling on things. In this manner, you can still let them experiment with new meals and become dirty, making cleanup a little simpler.
Third Feeding Mistake: Starting Solids Too Soon
The World Health Organization advises delaying the introduction of foods for your infant until they are six months old. However, parents frequently introduce solid foods before the recommended six months when they see their four or five-month-old baby waking up more frequently throughout the night and assume this is because they are hungry. But typically, this isn’t the case.
In actuality, their baby’s sleep schedule has developed. They wake up in the middle of their sleep cycles and look for their sleep aid to put them back to sleep. The “four-month sleep regression” is another name for this. Not hunger, but a normal shift in their sleep cycles, is causing them to awaken. Starting solids does not address this pattern of nighttime waking because it is not hunger that makes them wake up. Besides, if you started giving your baby solids before they were six months old, try delaying the introduction of solid food for a little while until they are at least six months old.
Fourth Feeding Mistake: Feeding the Infant Separately from the Family
People are social beings. We pick up a lot of knowledge by seeing what others do and imitating those actions. It is vitally crucial for your infant to observe you eating, chewing, and swallowing. Because of this, you must let your child eat among the rest of the family.
Fifth Feeding Mistake: Keeping the Baby Feeding After They Have Said They are Satisfied
You should stop feeding your baby when they show fullness, such as shaking their heads, arching their backs, losing interest in the food, or keeping their mouth shut. Your infant may develop a fear of eating if you insist on making them eat more food. Most parents also are unaware that anxiousness will reduce their baby’s appetite. This is so because anxiety causes the body to release stress hormones, promoting the fight-or-flight response.
Loss of appetite is one of the ways that these hormones have an impact on the body. You should refrain from feeding your infant after they have finished because doing so could make them afraid of food. This may affect their capacity to control hunger, resulting in weight issues.
It is crucial to remember that while it is your responsibility as a parent to feed your baby food that is safe for them to consume, it is your baby’s responsibility to determine how much food to consume.
Sixth Feeding Mistake: Using Highchairs that are too Large
Regrettably, the vast majority of high chairs are too big for infants. When trying to introduce solids, this leads to numerous issues. When you put your infant in a high chair, keep an eye out for the following to determine whether it is too big:
- They inevitably sag to one side. Their hands are up near their shoulders since the tray sits so high on them, which is a concern when it comes to feeding because it makes it tougher to swallow food. This makes it challenging to engage your baby in play and interaction with the meal, which we know is essential when introducing solids.
- There is no support for their feet. A footrest should support your infant’s feet with their feet flat. If they do not have this, sitting erect requires more effort, which leads to discomfort and weariness. They quickly lose interest in eating as a result of this.
It must be protected and supported when your baby starts exploring and eating. You must modify the high chair to accomplish that. One of the most frequent errors I encounter as an occupational therapist when parents have trouble getting their young child to eat is having an inappropriate high chair set up. The good news is that fixing it is typically simple and does not always require purchasing a new high chair. This article provides detailed instructions on modifying any high chair to provide your baby with the support they require if you want additional information on how to do so.
Conclusion: Top Six Feeding Mistakes Made by New Parents
Expert doctors strongly advise going through each of these steps and ensuring you are not making any feeding mistakes mentioned in the article if you are having trouble getting your babies to eat solid foods. Following the guidelines mentioned here will help you become good parents.