Even before your child can talk, he or she will show signs of hunger or fullness by using sounds and movements. Crying is often a late sign of hunger. Look for other signs of hunger listed below so you can put your child to the breast or bottle while he or she is still calm. As your child gets older, he or she will develop new signs for hunger and fullness. Understanding your child’s signs is important to help you know when and how often to feed your child.

Below are some examples of signs your child may show for hunger and fullness when he or she is a newborn to 6 months old and signs your child may start to show between 6 to 24 months old:

Birth to 6 Months Old

Your child may be hungry if he or she:

• Puts hands to mouth.
• Turns head towards mom’s breast or bottle.
• Puckers, smacks, or licks lips.
• Has clenched hands.

Your child may be full if he or she:

• Closes mouth.
• Turns head away from mom’s breast or bottle.
• Relaxes hands.

6 to 24 Months Old

Your child may be hungry if he or she:

• Reaches for or points to food.
• Opens his or her mouth when offered a spoon or food.
• Gets excited when he or she sees food.
• Uses hand motions or sounds for food to let you know he or she is still hungry.

Your child may be full if he or she:

• Pushes food away.
• Closes his or her mouth when food is offered.
• Turns his or her head away from food.
• Uses hand motions or sounds for food to let you know he or she is full.

Let your child decide how much he or she wants. Your child does not need to finish a bottle or all of the food in the jar or on the plate. Food is not a good reward or punishment.

Talk to your child’s doctor or nurse if you are concerned about how much or how little he or she is eating.

Feeding time can be hard for new parents, especially since babies can’t use words to tell you when they’re hungry and when they’re full. Luckily, they use nonverbal signs and cues to communicate when they need to eat and when they’ve had enough. It’s important for parents to recognize these signs and respond to them quickly, warmly, and consistently―a strategy that’s called “responsive feeding.”

Healthy eating habits that last a lifetime

Practicing responsive feeding when your child is a baby teaches positive eating habits and skills that keep them healthy as they get older. That’s because responsive feeding teaches children to:

• Recognize when their bodies are hungry and when they’re full (and to trust those feelings).
• Clearly communicate their needs to others.
• Eat when they are hungry and stop when they are full (instead of when someone tells them to).

How to practice responsive feeding with your child

Learn to recognize when your child is hungry and when they are full. Babies need to eat when they are hungry, but they shouldn’t eat more than they need. Watch your baby carefully for signs that they are ready to eat and signs that they are full.

Signs your baby may be hungry include:

• Opening and closing their mouth, moving their hands to their mouth, or putting things in their mouth.
• Making sucking noises.
• Putting their hands on their belly.
• “Rooting” (opening the mouth and turning to look for food).

Signs your baby may be full include:

• Starting and stopping feeding often.
• Slowing down or falling asleep while feeding.
• Closing their mouth or turning away from food.
• Spitting food out, pushing it away, or ignoring it.

Fussiness and crying don’t always mean your baby is hungry. Babies cry for many reasons―for example, when they are tired, uncomfortable, teething, or cold. A baby who is crying because they’re hungry usually shows some other signs of hunger first.

Respond quickly and appropriately. Respond right away when your baby shows signs of hunger and fullness. Acknowledge your baby’s cues and attend to them promptly and warmly.

Do:

• Start feeding when your baby shows signs of hunger.
• Make sure your baby is comfortable and remove distractions (turn off the TV, put away your phone) so you can both focus on feeding.
• Use eye contact and touch to engage with your baby during feeding.
• Let them stop eating when they show signs of being full.

Don’t:

• Ignore your baby’s cues.
• Force your baby to eat after they are full.
• Give your baby food to make them stop crying if they haven’t showed other hunger cues.

Be predictable. Establish a consistent schedule, structure, and routine for meals and snacks. This will help your baby know what to expect.

When your child is about 6 months old, you can start introducing him or her to foods and drinks other than breast milk and infant formula.

The foods and drinks you feed your child are sometimes called complementary foods. You can think of these as “complementing,” or adding to, the breast milk or infant formula that you continue to feed your child.

Between your child’s first and second year, he or she will develop the skills needed to participate in meals with the family, and by the time your child is 2 years old, he or she will be able to eat most of the same foods as the rest of the family. Some skills, such as finger feeding, drinking from a cup, and using a spoon are part of your child’s developmental milestones.

Ready to feed your 6 to 24 month old? Mealtime can be a messy and fun learning experience. Your child may have about 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks every day. Having a routine can help children know what to expect when it is time for meals or snacks.

Here are some routines and tips for mealtimes:

Clean

• Wash your child’s hands before mealtime.
• Tip: Worried about a mess? You can put newspaper or a plastic mat on the floor under your child’s high chair or booster seat. This can help with cleanup.

Be Safe

• Sit your child in a safe place. A high chair or booster seat are good options.
• Strap your child into his or her high chair or booster seat.
• Watch your child at all times to make sure he or she is safe.

Focus

• Face your child toward you or other family members at the table.
• Limit distractions. Avoid letting TV, videos, cell phones, or pets distract your child from eating. These can also distract you too. Focus on your child during mealtimes.

• Talk with your child during mealtimes. This can be a fun time, and it is important for your child to have your attention.

• Tip: Mealtimes do not have to be long. Mealtimes can last 10 or 15 minutes, or for as long as your child can pay attention.

Fingers, spoons, forks, and cups

• When your baby first starts eating foods, you may use a spoon or your baby may use his or her fingers.
• As your child gets older, he or she will develop different skills to help with mealtimes. Learn more about when your child will begin to use their fingers, spoons, forks, and cups.
• Tip: Are you worried about breaking dishes or cups? Use dishes and cups that are not breakable and do not have sharp edges.

Family meals

• Sitting down as a family for mealtime can teach your child how to eat and helps your child develop social skills.
• Give your child healthy food options at each meal.
• Tip: Want your child to try new foods? Model healthy eating. It can help your child learn what to do.

Amount

• Let your child decide how much to eat. Your child does not have to finish all the food on his or her plate or drink all the liquid in the cup or bottle.
• Tip: Watch your child for signs that he or she is hungry or full.

Did You Know?

Routines can help children know what to expect when it is time for meals or snacks.

Children should not watch screens. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children avoid using screens until they are 18 months old, unless video-chatting with friends or family.

Children may eat different amounts of food each day. This is normal. Talk with your child’s doctor or nurse if you are concerned about how much, or how little, your child is eating.

Your child is learning a lot about food and how to eat and drink. At first, you may be helping your child to eat. After your child is about 12 months old, he or she will quickly get better at using spoons, forks, and cups.

Did You Know?

Use a spoon to feed cereal or other foods.

Never give your child cereal or other foods from a bottle. When feeding cereals or pureed or mashed foods to your child, use a spoon.

Fingers

Your child will start to use his or her fingers to pick up food. This helps your baby develop fine motor skills. Offer your baby finger foods that are small enough to pick up and soft enough to chew. Here are some examples:

• Small cooked noodles.
• Small pieces of bread.
• Small pieces of soft, ripe peeled fruit or soft cooked vegetables.
• Small slices of mild cheese or crackers.

By the time your child is 12 months old, he or she should be able to easily feed themselves with his or her fingers.

Spoons and Forks

At first, your baby can learn how to swallow solid foods such as pureed or mashed foods you feed him or her from a spoon.

• Most babies can swallow a spoonful of pureed foods without choking when they are around 6 months old.
• Your baby can start to use a spoon by himself or herself at around 10 to 12 months old.
• Your child will continue to get better at using tools like spoons and forks. Give your child a chance to use spoons and forks—even if it is messy.

Cups

Your child can start learning how to use a cup without a lid when he or she is 9 months old.

• When your child is about 12 months old, he or she can hold a cup with two hands.
• Give your child a chance to use a cup—be ready for some spills.

Talk with your child’s doctor or nurse if you have any questions about things your baby can do at this age.

Did You Know?

Use a spoon to feed cereal or other foods.

Never give your child cereal or other foods from a bottle. When feeding cereals or pureed or mashed foods to your child, use a spoon.

Good nutrition is important for young children to help them grow healthy and strong. Follow these tips to help your picky eater try new foods.

Children may not like every food you give them on the first try. Give them a chance to try foods again and again, even if they don’t like them at first. Children may need to try some foods many times before they like them.

Approaches to Try

• Try eating the food first to show them you like it. Then, let them try it.
• Make funny faces with the foods on their plate. It may help them get excited to eat it.
• Give them a choice of different foods to try. Let them decide which one to try today.
• Serve new foods with foods you know they like.
• Try freezing small bites of leftover foods. You can use these later and avoid throwing food away.
• Wait a couple of days before offering the food again. It can take more than 10 times before your child likes it.

As children get older, they may start refusing foods they used to like or start showing signs of being a picky eater. Favoring just a couple of foods or not wanting foods to touch each other on the plate are normal behaviors. These behaviors often go away by the time the child is about 5 years old.

Try a Variety of Tastes and Textures

Giving your child foods with a variety of different tastes and textures can help them learn to accept and like a variety of foods. You can let your child try a variety of textures including:

• Smooth (strained or pureed).
• Mashed or lumpy.
• Finely chopped or ground.

Start out with smooth or mashed foods first and then move towards finely chopped or ground foods as they get older. This can help your child develop chewing skills, as well as fine motor skills like pinching and picking up food with their fingers. Be sure to offer foods in the right size, consistency, and shape for your child’s age and development to help prevent choking.

Keep It Fun!

Try these playful activity cards to keep your picky eater engaged and open to new tastes and textures.

Developed with the CDC Foundation.

Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and tornados, can make it hard for parents and caregivers to feed their infants and young children safely. Follow these tips to feed your child safely when disaster strikes.

For Parents and Caregivers

In the event of a natural disaster, be prepared for challenges, which may include power outages, unhealthy living spaces, and unsafe water. Always check with local authorities on the status of the drinking water and follow boil water advisories. The following tips provide specific information for how to feed your young child safely during an emergency.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding remains the best infant feeding option in a natural disaster situation. Breast milk helps protect babies from diseases such as diarrhea and respiratory infections and provides the calories and nutrients babies need. This protection is especially important during natural disasters when contaminated water and unsanitary environments can increase the risk of disease. Before a disaster happens, breastfeeding mothers can make a plan and be prepared.

• Wash your hands before feeding your infant. If soap and safe water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Learn how to express breast milk by hand. If there is a power outage, you may not be able to use your electric breast pump.
• Continue breastfeeding in emergencies.
• During and after a disaster, stay with your child. Staying together makes it much easier to continue breastfeeding.

Formula Feeding

If you need help obtaining nutritious food, see resources at USDA Nutrition Assistance Program. You can also call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 1–866–3–HUNGRY or 1–877–8–HAMBRE to find resources such as meal sites, food banks, and other social services.

• Wash your hands before preparing formula and before feeding your infant. If soap and safe water are not available for handwashing, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• If you formula feed your child, provide ready-to-use infant formulaif available. If ready-to-use infant formula is not available, it is best to use bottled water to prepare powdered formula or concentrated formula when tap water is unsafe.
• If bottled water is not available, boil water for 1 minute and let it cool before mixing with formula. Only use treated water to prepare formula if bottled or boiled water is unavailable.
• If your baby is younger than 2 months old, was born prematurely, or has a weakened immune system, consider taking extra precautions to safely prepare powdered infant formula.

Breastfeeding and Formula Feeding

• If you already combine breastfeeding and formula feeding, you may wish to breastfeed more often to increase your breast milk supply and reduce reliance on formula.
• Always clean infant feeding items with bottled, boiled, or treated water and soap before each use. If you cannot clean infant feeding supplies safely, children can lap up milk from a disposable cup, if available. Throw out bottle nipples or pacifiers that have been in contact with floodwater.

For Emergency Relief Workers

First responders, community health workers, and other volunteers should consider training to understand the feeding needs of infants and young children. If you are an emergency relief worker, keep this Breastfeeding Support Checklist for Relief Workers on hand and consider the following:

Create a Safe Space for Breastfeeding Families

• Keep families together.
• Create safe, private areas for breastfeeding women to nurse their infants.
• Reassure mothers that they can and should continue to breastfeed and should offer the breast as much as their infants want.

It’s All About Access

• Make pregnant and lactating women one priority group for access to food and water.
• Be ready to connect mothers and caregivers to lactation support providers if they need help.

Cleanliness Is Key

• Make disposable cups available, since bottles and nipples can be hard to clean effectively when there is limited access to clean water.
• If there is clean water, ensure access to items like a washbasin, dish soap, cleaning brushes, and a mesh bag to hang dry infant feeding items.
• Educate families about how to clean infant feeding items.

Things To Avoid

• Do not donate breast pumps. Without power, mothers cannot use an electric breast pump or safely refrigerate their expressed milk. Furthermore, keeping pump parts clean is an additional challenge when the water is unsafe.
• Do not donate powdered infant formula or other breast milk substitutes. Relief organizations should only provide ready-to-use infant formula to infants who are already formula feeding or have had breastfeeding interrupted in certain situations.