BLW - not yet using plates, but starting nursery soon, what to do?

[lovely74]

My DS is 10 months old and will start nursery in 3 months time. In the room he's going into the children sit at a table on little chairs.

Up to now we have been putting food straight onto his high chair tray. If we give him a plate or bowl this becomes the focus of his attention and he picks it up, chews it, throws it round, just as he does with all of his toys etc.

I'm going to start trying him with crockery over the next few weeks, so hopefully he'll be more adept at just taking the food out by then. But does anyone else have experience of this and how nurseries deal with it? could he be the only child who can't use plates?!

Bump

Have you asked the nursery staff what their approach will be?

No but I think I'll call them and see what they say. Didn't think till after I'd left!

My ds2 was BLW and we had the same issue with plates for a while.
Although he didn't attend nursery, there was a few times when he had to have lunch at creche, because he wouldn't use a plate, I used to cellotape a sheet of paper to the table so he was eating off of something and it made the creche staff more comfortable because it reduced the risk of foreign objects finding their way into his meal.

i would just ask the nursery what they think. I'm sure your dc won't be the first baby to throw a plate on the floor if that's the case.

Try using a plate, but blu-tacking it to his highchair. IME this is the best way to stop him being able to pick it up (although you need to not be shy with the blutac!) and everytime he tries to, try to distract him with food. After a while he should stop trying and realise that the food is more interesting than the plate. Although he's still likely to try and pick up the plate when he gets bored or full!

Thanks all. I gave him a plate with breakfast this morning and he didn't throw it on the floor till he'd finished fruit on it, which is good!

Also with soggy food ie cereal, I load spoons for him. I imagine they'd be used to this or at least to spoon feeding still at that age so this won't be a problem?

Anyone know if I can buy bowls that sucker to the table? I have a Tommee Tippee magic mat but it's a bit crap!

A good nursery can cope with all eventualities. I really would not worry. Sometimes you have to let childcarers find their own solution.

My daughter went to nursery at 9 months and we did have a problem in that my daughter refused point blank to be spoon fed or drink milk at nursery. The nursery staff were worried about my daughter choking and wanted to mash her food. My daughter lost a lot of weight as she got her calories in by breastfeeding all night. She also had a lot of colds and infections. The nursery now give her proper food and she is putting the weight back on.

reallytired that's awful! That is the kind of thing that worries me. Though at least when he goes he'll be 13 months so they shouldn't expect him to have mashed food, should they?

I'll definitely be calling them to discuss meal times and make sure they know what to expect with my little firecracker!

I've tried loads of sucker bowls (and the magic mat) and haven't found any that DS couldn't pull off given a couple of meal times.

I'd still recommend blu-tac.

Also, with regards nursery, I lent mine Gill Rapley's book and although they had heard of BLW, they hadn't really had much experience. I know they spoonfeed him some things, like fruit pots and yoghurt, but they've worked out that they have to just give him his plate of cottage pie (for example) and let him get on with it.

Children are pretty adaptable. It will not kill them to be spoonfed occassionally. Certainly I know that my daughter will eat off a spoon if she is ravenous.

I suppose our situation is a bit different. I never planned to do baby led weaning, we missed the "window of opportunity" and my daughter stubbornly refused to eat off a spoon. Life is just simpler if she finger feeds.

That's a really good idea, giving them the Rapley book. I'm not against spoon feeding, it's just not the route that I have chosen. On of the main reasons being that DS is always in control of what goes into his mouth. I'm hoping that the nursery can just do what I do and give him loaded spoons for things like yoghurt and cereal, and accept that he WILL throw food on the floor and some days he will refuse to eat anything and no coaxing is required.

Aww maryz that's lovely!!! Yup this'll be my boy, about crockery and table manners!!!