18-24 months
Oral-motor and self-feeding skills/behaviors
- Feeding self (with spilling)
- Finger-feeding discrete objects of food
- Placing food in spoon with free hand, then lifting spoon to mouth
- Using a controlled bite for hard foods (e.g., apple)
- Beginning to be able to lick food off the upper lip
- Holding cup well, spilling if too full
- Grasping spoon with a radial grasp
- Tongue clearing upper and lower lips
- Using a rotary motion for chewing
Appropriate foods
- small finger foods
- chopped table foods
- liquids (e.g., milk or juice) from a cup
- meat, some raw fruit and vegetables
During this stage, the child is ready for even more foods from the family's
menu.
By the end of this stage, the child is ready to begin using a fork and
to eat foods with more complex textures. |