My Baby Gulping Food

typical baby behavior. i used the book " what to expect in the first year" it really helped me quick ref what they would be doing and what to expect when they were faced with new development. they are learning textures of food and mobile skills. hand eye cordination so yes there wont be a cloth napkin experience. yes you can tell him no no lets eat the food or lets keep the food on the tray. most likely he will toss more on the floor to see if you say it again. say it again so he can learn that is what your talking about. good luck.

This is pretty normal Sadef. He WILL at some point grasp bits of food off his highchair tray/table/plate himself. His understanding of how the whole eating food thing works is limited, so he gets frustrated and shows his frustration by crying or lashing out.

Maybe you can model for him. Put a bit of food in front of yourself. Make a big show of how you pick it up with your hand and put it in your mouth, and show pleasure once you have.

Have fun with him. It's such a fun phase!

(I would make sure ALL bits of food are soft, small enough for him to swallow without chewing, yet big enough for him to see and grasp.)

:)

It's okay. He will learn to stop doing that as he gets older. Let him cry when you take food away for throwing. He has to learn not to throw food, and the only way to learn it to lose what he is throwing. And yes, it's kind of like a toy to him, though this toy he puts in his mouth is for eating.

Babies make big messes when they eat. They are experimenting with their tongues and lips and sometimes it's a wonder that ANYTHING gets inside their tummies, ha ha! The gulping is just part of him moving the food from his mouth to his throat. He'll eventually realize he doesn't have to do that anymore.

Dawn

Cut the pieces into 1/4" pieces and even if he does gulp them down they are less of a choke hazard. Give him a few pieces at a time so he won't have so many.