Originally Posted by mamamanda:
At this age I expect a toddler to be able to eat independently, use their spoon at least a good portion of the time, and eat a variety of foods (same foods I serve everyone.) I would not do anything special without a dr's note stating what is needed and why. I use booster seats to raise them to table height, but they eat off a plate like all the other kids rather than off a tray. I eat with them to model good eating habits, but I expect them to be responsible for their own meal. Yesterday my 17mo kept dropping his diced peaches off of his fork and was becoming frustrated. I did help him with about 3 of them showing him how to stab in the middle and scoop to pick it up. Then I let him finish putting it in his mouth. I don't mind helping/modeling, but I do expect that they will take the initiative and really try.
This is what I do as well, all my other children even the ones in the past have all figured it out very quickly....
It sounds like this child has other concerns if they are not reaching to be picked up or using fine motor skills at all. If I was genuinely concerned that there was something medically wrong that could put me or my business at risk I would definitely tell mom that I would no longer continue care unless these issues are addressed. If it's more of a frustration for you rather than a genuine issue for the child I would say serve your meals just like you do for the other kids. If the child eats it great. If they don't, let mom deal with it when they get home. Since you're the one who knows how serious the delays are, you'll just have to decide how much of a battle you're willing to make it. Either way, I would definitely stop offering purees, jar food, and anything special outside of what the others are offered.On my end it is a concern more then a frustration.. mind you there are days when I know that child is full able to do something that it does become a frustration thing and in those cases I just walk away and continue on with my programming...
Thanks.....