The below feeding skills may be a helpful guide as you work through mealtimes with your young child:

Age: Birth to 4-6 Months

Nipple Feeding: (breast or bottle
Hand on bottle during feeding (4-6 Months)
Parent-Infant interaction

Age: 6 – 9 Month

Spoon feeding for thin puree
Suckle PatternBoth hands hold the bottle
Finger Feeding introduced
Vertical munching of dissolvable solids

Age: 9 – 12 Months

Cup drinking
Eats lumpy & mashed food
Finger Feeding for dissolvable solids
Chewing & rotary jaw actions

Age: 12 – 18 Months

Self –Feeding
Grasps spoon
Holds cup with 2 hands
Drinking with 4-5 consecutive swallows
Holds and tips bottle

Age: 18 – 24 Months

Swallows with lips together
Self-Feeding is predominate
Chewing a wide range of foods
Tongue movements become more precise

Age: 24 – 36 Months

Circulatory jaw rotations
Total Self-Feeding using fork
Chewing with lips closed
One handed cup holding

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