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| |    Eating Solid Foods: The Developmental Perspective by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, babies should start solid foods between four and six months of age. That said, many begin a bit earlier without any problems. Like other behaviors, eating solid food is a matter of physical maturation and practice. Here are some of the steps in this process: Posture and reflexes To eat from a spoon, babies need to be able to sit in a chair comfortably and hold their heads steady for several minutes. They need to anticipate the coming spoon, open their mouths, then close their lips tightly to keep the food in. They also have a little "unlearning" to do. Newborns are born with a strong inborn sucking reflex that helps them nurse effectively. They suck on whatever goes into their mouths. This reflex needs to weaken--and usually does by four months of age--before babies can begin to use their mouths to eat solid foods. Tongue coordination Babies have to teach their tongues some new tricks. For solid foods, the tongue first pushes the food sideways toward the gums or teeth, then moves the softened food toward the back of the mouth. When there's a lot of food in the mouth, the tongue has to separate off a lump that is small enough to be swallowed, move that lump to the back, but hold the rest of the food forward. The challenge of choking The opening to the trachea, or windpipe, lies just behind the tongue in the back of the mouth. The opening to the esophagus, the tube that food has to pass through on its way to the stomach, lies behind the trachea. Food has to move pass the trachea in order to get into the esophagus, and this arrangement is really asking for trouble. Everyone has experienced food going down the "wrong tube;" it happens even to experienced eaters. For a baby, getting the food into the right tube can be a real challenge. In order to help food to pass by safely, the opening to the trachea has a partial covering. There is a narrow gutter on either side of the trachea for the food to slide in. As the tongue pushes the food back and to the side, the tracheal covering protects the windpipe, and the esophagus opens to receive the small bit of food. Learning takes time When broken down into steps like these, eating seems like a complex process, and, indeed, it takes time for babies to put all of these skills together. At first, many push the food out of their mouths with their tongues-a process known as the expulsion reflex. Tongue-thrusting works well when nursing, because it helps strip the milk from the nipple, but it has to be unlearned for eating solid foods. The sensation of having solid food in the mouth is strange at first, and some babies find it unpleasant. Early choking experiences can make babies tense when faced with a spoonful of food, and the tension makes the process of opening and accepting the food more difficult. Making it simple Now that you know how complicated the process of learning to eat from a spoon is, here are some ways you can make it simple:
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