When babies add complementary foods, solid and liquid foods are a real challenge for babies whose mouths are not yet developed. In order for babies to better enjoy the taste and absorb better, moms and dads don’t forget to train their babies’ chewing ability! It is generally believed that as long as there is the action of biting up and down, it means that the baby has the initial ability to chew food. 4-6 months is the best period or sensitive period for training babies to chew and swallow, and the best period for chewing training is 4-6 months. 4-6 months After 4 months, baby’s sucking and swallowing of liquid food has matured and can drink milk-like food smoothly without flowing out easily. At this stage, the baby’s tongue becomes more flexible and he will try to swallow the paste food or juice in his mouth by using his tongue and mouth movements, however, the movements are not very coordinated and sometimes the food will be pushed out or only a small amount of food will be eaten. It is recommended that starting at 4 months of age (or 6 months of age if you have allergies), your mother should start giving your baby foods other than milk, such as paste or puree, to give your baby the opportunity to train his or her oral movements. In order to match the size of the baby’s mouth, it is recommended that the mother use a small, safe and shallow spoon for feeding. Don’t be discouraged and don’t be too anxious, as long as you try every day, you will find that your baby’s chance of eating food is increasing. For fruit juice or vegetable soup, mom can use a small spoon to feed. 7-9 months 7-month-old baby is also starting to teethe. During this period, baby’s chewing and swallowing ability will be more advanced than the previous stage, baby will try to chew food up and down with the dental bed. 【Training focus】 Mothers can provide more varied complementary foods and make them harder or thicker than when they were 4-6 months old. Provide baby with food that needs to be chewed in order to develop chewing ability and to promote the eruption of teeth. In addition to feeding your baby food, if your baby is already teething, you can also offer your baby foods that he or she can hold in his or her hands, such as fruit strips or small toasts. 10-12 months Your baby has 4-6 teeth and is more coordinated in chewing and oral movements. From this stage, whether your baby can chew food properly also has an impact on the development of teeth. Proper chewing can stimulate the growth of milk teeth, enhance the development of jaw and facial muscles, and at the same time, enable your baby to get the nutrients needed for health through complementary foods. 【Training focus】 Baby’s supplementary food has gradually progressed to the adult stage, however, in principle, foods that are not easily digestible or too greasy are still not suitable for babies to eat. You can choose foods that are softer and easier to chew among adult foods. In addition to adult feeding, you can also train your baby’s ability to eat on his or her own. Mom may want to prepare a waterproof bib and a small spoon suitable for grasping, so that your baby can scoop food to eat on his or her own, which can also train your baby’s hand-eye coordination and self-care skills. 12 months and above After 1 year old, babies can slowly handle adult food and become better at using their teeth. In addition, babies have good imitation skills at this stage, so parents may want to do demonstrations and remind babies to bite and chew food so that they can smoothly switch to regular meals. Training focus】 Provide your baby with long strips of fruit, boiled vegetable segments or slightly hard cookies, so that your baby can get used to eating solid food. As long as your baby is willing, you can provide adultized food to him, however, it is still necessary to observe your baby’s digestive and absorption response. Around 1.5 years old, your baby will be able to offer the same foods as adults, except that some foods need to be cut into the right size or chunks for your baby, but not too finely.