Help with Discipline/Spitting While Eating With 6mth Old?

[BeachgalNY]

Hi!

Today brought a new challenge and I'm wondering if any of you might have any advice on it. My six month old son, who started solids about a week and a half ago, started spitting/blowing raspberries with his mouth full of food today. I've tried everything I can think of (covering his mouth, saying "No" in a myriad of ways, leaving the room, etc.), and he won't stop. Any ideas?

I'm lost on this, but it definitely makes me want to avoid feeding him solids.

I have no idea if he's old enough to really even understand my "no", since anything I'm doing is mostly just making him laugh, and it's certainly not making it stop. Can you even discipline a child this young? There were green beans everywhere this morning.

Thanks for any advice anyone has!

 

[Teri7489]

Ahh the joys of weaning! I hope I don't come across rude or that here, but I think you need to be a little more realistic. A 6 month old won't understand no so you need to try distracting him instead. Maybe offer him a spoon to hold, or give him finger foods to chew on in between you giving him a spoon of something. Try not to get too upset about the mess. It is a messy time but you can always pop a mat or paper down under his chair which is easily cleaned. If you get stressed and upset during his feeding time he will sense that and it won't go well. Relax and enjoy this time, it can be quite a nice bonding experience together xxx

 

[biglebowski]

Take a deep breath, relax, and welcome to the messy world of weaning!! Your lo isnt doing it to annoy you, hes just having fun with a new skill hes learned. Id not react at all, and he will swiftly move on. Then itll be the throwing food on the floor stage...then the smushing food in his hair....then the emptying his water cup on his food stage...then the catapulting a spoon across the room....well you get the picture. Try to keep mealtimes light and relaxed, and dont get stressed. Hes 6 mo, his table manners are non-existent!!!

 

[sue_88]

It's very normal, and just learning about textures and what his mouth can do. My 11.5m does it still and it's really horrid but I just let her get on with it. She won't be doing it forever and once she can communicate what's the matter (too hot, too cold, funny texture, bad flavour) she'll have stopped....in theory

 

[Louise88]

My 6 month old has started blowing raspberries to I just get on with it though, I remind myself that I've had much worse showered over me (baby poo) lol unfortunatly a 6 month old won't understand any kind of disapline this is a faze which believe me they will go through a lot of annoying fazes my dd has just gone through a spitting her juice out faze and she's 2! Just take a deep breath and remind yourself it will pass

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

I dont think any discipline is needed. He is just exploring his food. New tastes, textures and experiances. Have you considered baby led weaning? He can explore his food at his own pace andenjoy finger foods

 

[Kanichen34]

My LO did this but it only lasted a week or 2 - ignore it it'll stop soon enough

 

[Miss_Cellany]

Mine does this all the time. I find it funny! Didn't even occur to me to try and stop him. I'm now hoping my laughing isn't encouraging it!

 

[Alyssa Drough]

My DD will take a spoon full of puree and before she swallows it will stick her hands in her mouth! Then she lifts up the bib from underneath and wipes it all over her face! I just laugh - she'll learn to eat 'properly' in her own time.

 

[staralfur]

I would just go with it. If it seems he'd rather play with his food than eat it, then just don't offer any more. At that age it's not imperative that they have any solids, so if he's not into actually eating it, then don't worry about it. It's early days. My LO didn't really take to solids until shortly after her first birthday. He'll eat when he's ready!

 

[BeachgalNY]

I appreciate the advice, and I get that this can be a messy time, but I honestly can't deal with this kind of mess. It's insane! Little droplets of food all over absolutely everything in a 2 foot radius. Me, all my clothes, him, the whole highchair, the floor, the table, etc. It's not workable for me to try to cover or clean that much of an area. I honestly can't figure out how anyone desks with that kind of mess on a daily basis. I can barely find time to clean my floors once a month, and it's killing me that's not done more often, considering he'll be crawling any minute.

I get that he may be too old for discipline, but I need to do something to avoid this somehow. Yikes!

 

[Teri7489]

There are plastic mats designed for baby weaning that you can put under his chair. They can be wiped clean quickly and easily. There isn't a lot you can do otherwise. It's a messy job but it won't last long. Soon he will be too busy trying to eat what's in the bowl and not the actual bowl. If finger foods are too messy just now then stick with spoon feeding, and only give a very small a amount on each spoon. I highly doubt you will manage to discipline a 6 month old successfully though. X

 

[MindUtopia]

Honestly, I'd say it might be a good lesson for just preparing yourself for what's to come. Kids aren't neat eaters. And the kind of mess you're describing sounds pretty normal for all kids up to probably 3! There will come a point when things don't end up everywhere, but it won't be anytime soon and the best thing to do just might be to adjust your expectations so it's not so stressful for you. Food is going to be getting everywhere for the next few years and there really is nothing you can do to prevent it. We found that just wiping down the high chair and kitchen floor and anything else with a wet cloth after every meal got rid of most of it (takes about 3 minutes) and a good clean one a week or so will get anything you missed. Another thing you might try is just to skip purees altogether and go straight to finger foods are your LO is 6 months. If he's spitting stuff out everywhere, it won't be quite as messy if it's toast than if it's fruit puree. Finger foods are still messy and will still go on the floor, but it won't spray all over you and the mess might be a bit more containable. Otherwise, just ride it out. It's a phase and it won't last forever (the blowing raspberries bit), though it's always going to be messy.

 

[staralfur]

Agree with MindUtopia about skipping the purées if you're that bothered by the mess.

Honestly though, babies and toddlers are messy creatures. Especially toddlers. My LO and I usually go through at least one wardrobe change per day; whether it be food, mud, poop.... Her favourite food is yogurt and even with a pretty good grasp of using a spoon it is a HUGE mess.

 

[patch2006uk]

I've spent today finding grains of rice on every surface from my 3 year old from last night's tea. He's pretty good with cutlery now, but by no means perfect-he's three! We bought a kolon mat from Ikea for the floor and a handheld Dyson for dry mess, and we bought a vax cleaner that could suck up liquids when we started out, too. Weaning is messy. Kids are messy. It's fab sensory exploration, though! Clear the floors and surrounding area, put a mat on the floor and have plenty of wipes to hand. I agree about finger foods-chunks are easier to sweep up try and find some enjoyment in it-lo will only pick up on your anxiety and that'll probably make things worse overall x

 

[Night Flower]

Sounds like you're offering too much food at once. They only need tableapoon sizes per offered meal during this period, if that.

 

[zorak]

6 months old make mess, just wipe the floor after. I often use wet kitchen roll. Try to position the high chair in the middle of the floor. I'm afraid you just need to learn to deal with it.