We really like to look after your child. It is a special pleasure to feed your child. But mothers need to understand: a kid during food should not be passive. He should not appear and affirm the feeling that he is just an object of someone's manipulation. Otherwise, he will lose interest in food as a process. And this is very bad. That is, organized meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) will be perceived as a mandatory, but not too pleasant procedure. Something like vaccination in a polyclinic. The behavior of a small child at a table is very important. But how to teach a young child to behave properly at the table?
Everyone knows that the baby needs his own dishes. Young mothers rarely can resist buying special children's dishes. And I must say that the correctly selected set is a boon for all participants of the meal. Children's utensils should always be kept clean in the cupboard. If it is for some reason long stood open in the kitchen furniture, it is better to rinse it. If you wipe the dishes with a towel, make sure that it is clean. So it is not meant for dirty hands or rubbing the table.
Maintaining a neat appearance during a meal is not an easy task. Ideal purity and order can be achieved only if you do not let the baby in principle touch the food. And this is not included in the plans for the education of an independent person. The apron, which you tie a baby, must be clean. It is necessary to supervise, that on it there were no traces of the dried up food and ugly stains.
From time to time, you can draw the baby's attention to what his dining table looks like before the start of the meal. So you lay down the table setting skill at a very early age. "Let's put a plate and a cup, put a fork and a spoon. Look, what a beautiful apron you have. Let's tie it up. If something is dropped from the spoon, the shirt will not get dirty. " Some parents believe that it is useless to say such things to small children, because they still do not understand anything. But it is not so. Up to two years, a constant benevolent repetition of any wishes is almost certainly postponed by the baby in the subconscious. What Mom says is not yet perceived as tediousness and imposition. The kid will simply follow the rules that he takes first under the influence of the natural authority and personal example of the mother. But even later, realizing their meaning and necessity, the child will do everything himself and of his own free will. And, without hesitation and not seeing an excuse for protest.
It is important that for the baby hand hygiene is deposited in the subconscious as a necessary condition for food intake, became a habit. By the way, if you are forced to feed your child in a place where you can not wash your hands with water, wipe them with a damp cloth. Your hands are also affected, especially if you help the child eat. Be sure to explain to the baby why you are doing this.
Teaching a young child to behave properly at the table, do not hold back his initiative. If a small child grabs a spoon and tries to do something with it, do not take it away. First, the kid himself will try to use this item at his own discretion. And it is unlikely that he will succeed at once. You gently and aggressively take the handle of the consumer and direct his movements, affectionately encouraging words. Then again, let me act on my own. If you see that the baby does not come up with anything good, take it gently with his spoon and continue feeding yourself. And, of course, be sure to eliminate the results of unsuccessful efforts from the face, hands and even the apron of the baby. Keep eating clean. A kid can and should be active during a meal. But to eliminate the side effects of its activity - while your task. Do not chase after absolute sterility. The main thing is that he does not get used to eating a bunch of food among the spread out on the table, face and body, constantly touching them and again getting stained.
If you fundamentally sacrifice the independence of accuracy, do not allow the child to master the trial and error of the necessary skills for food intake, then the risk increases to completely "kill" in it the interest in independent nutrition. After 1.5-2 years, babies will find many other ways of self-realization. And the desire to learn to own a spoon and fork will not be among them the most attractive. Unskilled, one-year-old kids on the contrary, seek to subordinate themselves to the world by all available ways, and there are not so many of them yet. And the ability not to depend on an adult at the table is one of the most important.
Often a set of children's dishes include specially designed for kids spoon, fork and even a knife. These objects are no less important than plates and a mug. After all, it is with their help that the baby can eat on his own. Once the diet begins to enter solid food, teach him to use a fork and knife.
Kids love to take a spoon in their mouth, turn it there, tap it with their teeth. Such an action is quite natural, but should not become a habit. There are several reasons for this: it is ugly, it distracts the child from the process of eating, since the spoon starts to play the role of a pacifier, and if the spoon is replaced with a fork, it can cause serious harm to the baby. You do not need to tear the spoon out of your mouth, but you should pay attention to the fact that such a treatment with a cutlery can not be the norm. In a one-year-old baby spoon in this case, you can carefully pick up and treat it with food "according to the rules," then again bring the spoon back to the eater. An older child, if this behavior repeats itself and becomes a habit, you can tell some instructive story, the degree of edification which you define yourself.
Allow to lead a spoon in a plate, observe how a mash or puree drains from a spoon into a bowl. It is desirable even to comment on what the child can observe while observing it: consistency, texture, smell. It does not matter if the baby cognates interest in touching porridge or vegetables with his hands. Do not scold him. Just notice that it's best to eat a spoon with a spoon. Then she will get everything to the eater, and not smudge on the table. But if you see that the experiment turns into a game that does not have any relation to your occupation, stop it and concentrate on the dinner.
Let the dish that you offer the child does not remain faceless and nameless. Tell that the baby is in a small plate, gradually complicating his speech, depending on the age of the child. When the kid is old enough to enter into a meaningful dialogue with you, ask him to show the food on the plate, which you call, or to call it yourself. So you will fix the child's ability to distinguish between the kind and taste of different foods. This will help him to more clearly formulate his desires in the future.
The advice to keep the baby's face and handles clean while eating also refers to the category of common ones. But children rarely do without getting dirty. Especially if you try to eat yourself. Some mothers believe that close communication with food gives the baby additional sensory and tactile experience. The way it is. But to feel the distinction between "production costs" and a habit of sloppiness should also be taught in the beginning. Do not scold if the child is smeared while eating. Kindly, but without explicit approval aloud note this fact and ask the child to wipe with a napkin. But first wipe yourself, and then give it to the baby. With the approximate behavior of a small child at the table, do not forget to encourage him. Ability to remove excess food is almost as difficult to master, as well as cutlery. If the dirty baby seems funny to you, you can talk about it with your dad or other relatives of the baby. And even click it on the camera. But be careful - do not make it into an amusing game, do not provoke the child to get spoiled by food specially. Needless to say, sometimes you can allow luxury to get dirty with something especially tasty and brandy. But let this always be an exception to the rule.
You are so happy that the baby is good and happy to eat that they are ready to thank him. Especially if the eater is not always inclined to please you. But no one has abolished the rules of good manners. And if now they seem to you an unnecessary burden, then the baby then even more so does not come to thank you for lunch or dinner. After all, he will receive it regardless of this circumstance.
How to start grafting the manners at the table? Of course, above all, by own example. If the child is very small, this should not prevent you from wishing him "a pleasant appetite" or say "eat your health." And when he ate, it's fun, but not too demanding to ask to thank you and even say "Thank you, Mom" instead. And then ask to repeat these words. And sincerely rejoice, if as a result of your efforts the child will utter these words on his own. Especially quickly such a habit arises if the family often sits at the table together. The child on an example of adults observes these necessary samples of elementary politeness. It is difficult for children to come to terms with some rules, especially if they do not see the sense in them. Adults this applies to no lesser extent, only their situation is also complicated by the presence of already established habits, both good and bad. After all, it is much more difficult to retrain than to learn.
Older children like simple role-playing games, closely related to their surrounding reality. Children's dishes can play in the process of education is not the last role. Why not sit down at the improvised table of toy characters and not rehearse with them the desired behavior at the table. Together with the kid, encourage good and right behavior and cheat for the unworthy. Children love teaching less than ours. Give them this opportunity. Let them serve the animals themselves with a dining table, take them to wash their hands, and wipe the napkins. Let them maintain order at the table as an elder. Let them wish "a pleasant appetite" on their own behalf and be thanked at the end of dinner. It will not be superfluous also to wash the dishes and wipe the table. And be sure to thank for the treat!