How To Feed an Independent Toddler and Easy Baby Food Recipes

I find myself incredibly lucky – I have a toddler, who is super smart, physically active, and very independent. What does it mean? My 18-month old feels that he can make his own decisions in regards to just about anything in his life – his walking patterns, his feeding routines, and just about anything else.

Here is what our feeding process looks like. I give him the spoon with something that is absolutely delicious and he does this:

This doesn’t necessarily mean that he is not hungry – he has most likely his own ulterior motives: wants a bribe, wants to feed himself or has already seen something more interesting.

However, if you make it look like it was his idea, he will be eating his lunch without even sitting down

Here is my personal plan to feeding my independent child. I hope it will help you too.

Let your Toddler Feed Himself

While your toddler might be very independent and wants to feed himself, you might not want to do it for a variety of reasons – he will get everything and everyone messy and it will take forever. However, let him do it once in a while – take a lot of pictures too!

Make it Look Like It’s his idea.

Casually left bowl of food would let your toddler make his own decision if he wants to give Chicken Itty-Bitty Noodle Dinner a try. Once he understands how delicious it is – move the party to the table!

Thanks to Lil’ Bits Baby Food Recipes a little one is now a master chewer! Meet a new world filled with excitement and adventurous foods.

Layer it Up

There is an easy way to hide the right stuff in baby food recipes – layer up. This is exactly what I did with this Pear Apple Berry Baby Parfait. Why layering instead of mixing? The idea is creating a combination of tastes without making them into one taste.

Each Lil’ Bits™ recipe is made with perfectly sized soft pieces of fruits or veggies to help your baby learn and master chewing
Gerber 3rd Foods Lil’ Bits Ingredients are carefully selected to meet the high-quality standards of GERBER®. With no added starch, artificial colors or flavors Lil’ Bits is the perfect option for any baby.

Love easy out of box baby food recipes? Here is another way to intrigue your “know it all” toddler –

Special Toddler Parfait

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We know you are always chasing your independent toddler, simplify your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with Gerber Lil’ Bits. Find more Easy Baby Food Recipes here.

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