Feeding behavior of 6- to 12-month-old infants: assessment and sources of parental information.
Both the infant's development of feeding skill and self-regulatory competence during the second 6 months of life have implications for weaning and for a weaning diet. This article examines four categories of feeding skills: taking food from a spoon; handling thicker, lumpy foods and foods that require chewing; self-feeding with fingers or a spoon; and drinking from a cup and managing the bottle. These skills are fundamental for the development of self-regulatory competence through the phases of sensorimotor modulation (from 3 months of age to approximately 9 to 12 months) and control (9 to 12 months of age). Available instruments to assess feeding skill and self-regulatory competence are described. Questions concerning feeding practices in relation to the infant's development of feeding skill and self-regulatory competence are raised. Potential conflicts between professional and lay sources, informational methods used and preferred, and the types of problems for which help is sought are discussed.
Pridham
K F
KF
School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53792.
D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D002666:Psychology, Child; D014886:Weaning