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