Eating and Drinking These are common aspects of a child's eating development. Transitioning from a bottle to a cup usually happens around 12-18 months. Chewing and swallowing solids start at about 6 months, with gradual progression to more textured foods.

Picky eating often emerges during toddlerhood, as children assert independence and explore food preferences. Offering a variety of nutritious foods, being patient, and setting a good example can help navigate these eating milestones.

Between 12-18 months, your child will:

• Eat ground, mashed, or chopped table foods (including soft pieces of meat) by 15 months
• Use her tongue well to move food from side to side in the mouth
• Lose a bit of food or saliva out of the mouth while chewing
• Bite foods well
• Eat coarsely chopped table foods, including meats and raw vegetables by 18 months
• Sometimes chew with lips closed
• Drink from a cup well without losing liquid out of her mouth by 18 months
• Feed herself using a spoon, dropping some food off the spoon
• Start to refuse some foods

By 24 months (2 years), your child will:

• Swallow well from a cup with good lip closure around cup and no loss of liquid
• Swallow food well with good lip control and no loss of food
• Chew with jaw movements that go round and round, as well as up/down and side to side
• Know the difference between food and non-food items
• Scoop foods with a spoon, with some spills
• Start to stab food with a fork and get it to her mouth
• Start to show clear likes and dislikes of some foods

Between the ages of 2 and 3 years of age, your child will:

• Eat the same foods as the rest of the family
• Feed himself well with a spoon and fork
• Have definite food likes and dislikes
• Refuse certain foods
• Possibly start to become a “picky eater”
• Wipe his own mouth and hands with a napkin or cloth
• Start to serve herself at the table with some spills
• Pour liquids into his cup from a small container

Red Flags for Eating and Drinking Problems

• Arching or stiffening of the body during feeding
• Coughing or choking during feeding
• Being very irritable/fussy during or after feeding
• Taking a really long time to feed (more than 30-45 minutes)
• Frequent spitting up
• Getting sick often with pneumonia or chest infections
• Gurgly, hoarse, or breathy voice
• Less than normal weight gain or growth
• Lots of leakage of food or liquid from the mouth
• Coughing, gagging, or throwing up during or after meals
• Stuffing mouth with food
• Holding food inside pockets in mouth for long periods
• Difficulty accepting new textures of food
• Avoidance behaviours to specific foods and textures (gagging, vomiting, blocking the spoon with hands or closed lips, crying, pushing food away, etc)
• Abnormal bowel movements that last longer than a few days (diarrhea, constipation, loose stool)
• Skin reactions to foods (dry patches, hives, rashes) Note: If your child seems to be having a severe allergic reaction to a food (difficulty breathing, turning red, developing hives or rash on the face/chest), you should seek medical help immediately.