Many parents ponder this question often as their baby grows and develops. It is actually quite a common concern! As we all know, babies develop at different speeds and rates, so it can be challenging to know if your baby is on track. Furthermore, milestones such as crawling or walking are more universally talked about at doctor visits or within parent groups. Feeding development is a lot more vague, and oftentimes, unless you visit a specialist, it is hard to know what is age-appropriate and what is not. In this article, we will take a look at some typical feeding milestones from around one year of age to two, so you can gauge if your baby may or may not be on track and determine if your little one needs some professional intervention.  

Between 10-12 months, we would typically expect for your growing baby to be able to:

• Take most liquids through a cup. (There are many varieties of cups that can be appropriate.) Also, believe it or not, many children this age can easily drink through a straw! Straw drinking can be learned from as early as six months old.
• Good closure around the spoon when placed in the mouth.
• Gag response should start to significantly decrease by this age (12 months).
• Use their fingers to feed themselves lots of food. They may not be great at it, but they may also hold utensils and attempt some messy self-feeding, too!
• Variety of foods will be increasing. Food exploration is popular, even if not a lot of teeth have come in yet. Mashed foods and soft-cooked veggies are great options, and most littles ones this age love to steal food from siblings’ or parents’ plates!
• Rotary chewing (or side-to-side chewing) is emerging and should be seen by the end of the first year of life.

After 12 months (to around 18 months), the following is typical (think bigger toddlers until age two):

• Most babies this age can eat chopped or ground food (as well as the mashed food you were giving them before), and they are using their tongues to nicely move the food from one side of their mouth to the other.
• Closed-mouth chewing emerges, causing less spillage from the front of the mouth.
• Feeding is still messy, but it is getting better.
• Three meals with a few snacks in between.
• Exploration should continue, although some pickiness does emerge around 24 months and is typical. It should not be extreme.
• Some babies this age can do raw veggies, and biting is usually established, especially with the emergence of front teeth.
• Toward the end of 18 months, most children can drink well from an open cup without an excessive amount of spillage.

Of course, like with all milestones, there are always variances and gray areas. But, if you feel like your child needs some help getting back on track with feeding, you should not ever hesitate to reach out. Early intervention is best. A good place to turn is always your pediatrician, but keep in mind that just checking your baby’s growth (height and weight) is not always a great indicator of good feeding skills. Be sure to remember all of the aspects of feeding when discussing your concerns with your doctor. If needed, you should be able to get a referral/consultation to a feeding specialist who can help identify any areas of concern that need to be addressed.