What would happen if you never let your babies feed themselves (always spoonfed)?

Question

Like, if you don't choose to BLW your child and you don't let them finger-feed themselves (I think some times ago, BLW wasn't the norm).

What would happen?

Answer 1

SOMETIMES it can lead to a bit of a phobia of food and mess. See House of Tiny Tear Aways where some mums are constantly on standby with wet wipes and babies are afraid to stick their hands in anything vaguely messy.

Answer 2

I don't know what BLW stands for.  babyledweaning.blogware.com  ?

Answer 3

nothing would happen, but their development would be behind, and they would have to go thru the embarrassment at school when it comes to eating their lunch. thay would soon learn tho. they need to be allowed to feed themselves when they are babies, its all about learning and experimentng, its normal. it also helps with ther hand to eye coordinations, so its a good thing to let them do by themselve. every baby like learning and trying new things, just let it happen

Answer 4

I really don't recommend that, but if you did do that, it would take longer for the kid to be an independent eater. Yes, it's  a messy process, but very important for kids to learn to feed themselves...unless you would rather spoon-feed your  2 or 3 year old at every meal. Personally, I had other things I needed to get done, and I enjoyed watching them learn to do it themselves. =)

Wow...I think it's really sad that your husband gets so bent out of shape about a mess his BABY makes.  Is he the one cleaning it up? If not, tell him not to worry about the mess. ;)

Answer 5

Well, eventually, most toddlers enter the "independent stage" and would grab the food right off of YOUR plate.  Barring any medical/sensory complications, most toddlers want to eventually eat on their own.  Although, by that time, many of their taste/texture preferences have formed, and they may not "like" new foods/textures.

We did BLW, and I have a kid who's favorite things in life are kefir, roasted green beans, mulberries, salad with "sauce" (homemade dill-ranch dressing), and jalapeno kettle chips (You knew there had to be a junk food in there).

Answer 6

I'd never even heard of BLW until a month or so ago. I've no idea why anyone wouldn't let a child finger-feed themselves - this has nothing to do with BLW. People who start with spoon-fed purees still give their babies finger food once they get to 8 months or so.

I mean, this is one of those daft hypothetical questions like "what would happen if you never potty trained a child". Everyone does, because not doing so would be serious abuse. So nobody knows what would happen if you carried on and on never doing it.

Answer 7

They will become spoilt little brats and as they get older will be selfish and become the next generation of delinquent teenagers.

Answer 8

Babies make messes, daddy needs to realize that and the sooner the better. My 14 month won't let me spoon feed her! She either grabs the spoon or tries to knock the food off on to her high chair if its a finger type food. Babies need to learn to do for themselves.  

Answer 9

My daughter never spoon fed herself and know that shes a 15mo i hate myself for it she didn't even touch her birthday cake and it was sitting right there in front of her. But shes trying to know

Let him try to spoon feed himself believe me you'll regret it

Answer 10

My baby doesn't want to be spoonfed.  She grabs at the spoon and smears food all over the place.  I tend to give her foods that she can eat herself.  She doesn't have any teeth yet (10 months) so we're kind of limited on what foods we can give her.

Answer 11

I feed my 16 month old things like yogurt, soup, spagetti, etc. I let him feed himself the other stuff. He knows how to use the spoon, but still mastering it.

I, myself, was raised spoon fed. My parents fed everything to me. I know how to use a spoon now. So, I guess nothing would happen?