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Developmental stages in Infant and Toddler Feeding
As a parent you will naturally want to know what to expect in your child’s development. The developmental milestones shown below are evidence-based and can be used as a helpful guide to typical child development.
Use our Toddler Meal planning tool to ensure your 1-4 years old receives a balanced diet every day.
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Use our toddler food tracker to check that your 1-4 year olds are getting a good balance of foods and activity
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This educational programme for frontline professionals contains a range of practical resources on infant feeding.
Find out more >Guidance for Parents
The age at which infants achieve many skills depends on how often they are promoted by parents and carers and performed by the child. It is normal for there to be some variation in the ages at which an infant or toddler achieves a new skill.
Birth to 4 months
From birth your baby will suck their fist when they are hungry and slow/stop sucking and turn their head away from the nipple when they are full. They will prefer to look at faces and learn to recognise and smile at familiar faces. In the first four months your baby might begin to develop many skills such as exploring different objects by holding them and putting them in their mouth.
Download: Guidance for Parents
Birth to four months >
4 – 6 months
Between four and six months your baby might start to sit alone with some support and show interest in turn taking interactions, ‘I do something you do something’. Your baby might be ready to try some food tastes and signal that they are hungry by moving their head towards a spoon and turn away from a spoon when no longer hungry. They may start to hold food and bring food to the mouth.
Note: The Department of Health recommends that infants should first be given foods other than breast milk at around six months of age. The European guideline for the introduction of complementary foods is between four and six months.
Download: Guidance for Parents
4 – 6 months >
6 – 12 months
In the six to twelve month period your baby is likely to pass a number of milestones such as picking up objects with a pincer grasp (with finger and thumb) and imitating other people’s behavior. They will be able to cope with lumpy solid foods. They might point to foods they want and might even begin to say ‘no’ to foods they dislike.
Download: Guidance for Parents
6 – 12 months >
12 months – 4 years
Between 12 months and 4 years toddlers begin to imitate the eating behavior of adults and other children and they are likely to be able to feed themselves with a spoon. In these years, toddlers begin to recognise foods by sight, smell and taste, and they might start to name a food that they know they want. They might also start to reject foods that they had liked eating before.
Download: Guidance for Parents
12 months – 4 years >
