The Best Ways To Transition Your Infant To Eating Regular Food and Successfully Drinking From a Cup

Without exception, children who have joined our daycare in their second year are still on a bottle or nursing and eating pureed food or a minimum selection of regular food. This is often true for eighteen month + children.

Obviously, the longer you wait to make the transition, the more challenging it is, and almost no measurable success has occurred. In this case, the typical result is that their menu is limited to their favorite foods, and vegetables are rarely an important part of their diet.

We begin in their ninth month by offering them one component of the older children’s menu. A vegetable is the best start, usually with a green one. They can successfully handle peas, green beans (cut into small parts) and then move on to carrots or whatever is on the menu.

If they are able to pick them up and feed themselves that is the best! If not, being fed with a spoon serves the same purpose.

You can then move on to proteins, carbs/grains and then fruit.

If there are allergies in your family, introduce these one at a time for several days and watch for any reaction.

As it is the case at our daycare, vegetables must be eaten first, followed by proteins, carbs/grains and then fruits.

We have stayed true to this pattern, even in the introduction stages with the most success.

We take the same approach with liquids. We introduce whole milk in a regular size cup (six to seven ounces – no top). Obviously we are holding the cup with the infants to keep the flow controlled and the cup balanced. We have never had an infant resist this approach. The result is that by their first birthday they are drinking an adequate supply of milk without relying on a bottle. You can include water as needed. Do not introduce juice until the infant is enjoying the process and is successful at it. If they are getting a diet of adequate fruit intake, you may be able to skip that step.

In almost all cases, we have been successful at enjoying seeing our one year old seated at the tables with the other children and successfully enjoying the same food.

You can accomplish the same at home! Place your child’s high chair at the table with you and welcome them to a family mealtime environment.

They key to all this is:

1.       Starting early.

2.       Treating it as a natural growth skill.

3.       Preparing them to give up their bottle/nursing and their pureed food at their first birthday without negative consequences.

When everyone in the family is involved in this transition, it is amazingly rewarding.