She just turned 1 last week and refuses to self feed. She will let me feed her baby food with a spoon and food by hand, minimally, but rarely picks food up off her tray to feed herself! She won't drink out of a sippy cup with or without a lid. Parents feel that she will do it in her own time. I'm not convinced. She was 5 weeks premature and just started to crawl last week! She has PT once a month but I think she needs more. Oh and they want her to have a vegetarian diet! Any advice?

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Is she capable of picking things up? Does she put things in her mouth? Like toys? If yes, then she is capable of feeding herself.

Put it on the tray and gently take her hand and mush it up into her hand. Then put her hand up to her mouth. She may fight you, be gentle.

Then walk away. Let her feed herself.

Make the food some of the ones she likes the best.

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I still have a 2.5 yr old that won't do it because parents do it for him at home, at this point I just gave up and if he eats he does and if he does not eat well parents fault. Have talked with them on many occasions about this, they say they don't like the mess at home but that they are going to try, the day I see that child feeding himself is the day i will know they finally stopped feeding him at home.

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i had one like that, same age. i offer the food all bit size on the tray. if they eat they eat. I know its the same problem parents that are spoon feeding him. Only problem with this is when he goes down for a nap he then drinks a bottle. So the kids already knows I don't have to eat, I'll get a bottle anyways.

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