High chair training twins for eating solids can be a daunting task.

It is DOUBLY imperative to train multiples so that meal time will be SANE!!! Or at least relatively sane….

HIGH CHAIR TRAINING  TWINS TIPS

Here a few tips that we are working on….we HAVE NOT ARRIVED YET!

1. HANDS must stay either on the tray or at the very least AWAY from the feeding spoon. They are not allowed to GRAB the spoon or slap it to they can watch the food fly!

2. NO BLOWING RASPBERRIES and spitting their food. Smiling however is welcome=)

3. If you feed the twins SHORTLY AFTER THEY WAKE UP you can avoid the cranks later.

4. MEAL TIME for the twins are AT THE SAME TIME. So mommy doesn’t forget who ate what and when.

…….sad to say there was 1 day when we didn’t know WHY one of the twins was sooooooooooooooooooo cranky after he slept thru mealtime. When he woke family dinner was over and we had moved on to other activities…..WELL he really had to LET US KNOW! We figured it out….he definitely got his point across.

5. FINGER FOODS are fed @ AT THE SAME TIME as spoon feeding. This is unlike the conventional strategy of not mixing these events to avoid the messy fingers….By feeding a finger snack at the same time during a multiples feeding time, you help the babes who are waiting for their turn. I find I don’t have upset twins by doing this. Again, this may go against the grain for high chair training singleton babies.

6. SIGN LANGUAGE is key to help the twins exercise patience and self-control. Frustration sets in when the twins are hungry and do not yet know how to communicate. There are links for some of the key words.

Please (added to most requests),

thank you & all done

eat,

more

drink 

are the initial sign language words to help them express heir needs…

For a free baby signs chart: http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/free-baby-sign-newsletter-magazine-updates.html#top

7. Finger foods go DIRECTLY ON the HIGHCHAIR tray. We do not give the TWINS plates to flip and dump…this is too much to police. When they mature a bit then we teach then to eat the food but not PLAY with the plates.

8. NO food LAUNCHING. The twins should not purposely drop the food on the floor to watch it fall….there is enough work to go around raising twins to add unnecessary food clean up to the list. Any food squishing, mashing and dropping means they are no longer hungry. The newer high chairs have a top tray that allows immediate removal of the food.

9. HIGH CHAIR TIME CAN BE EXTENDED to cut back on twin chasing time by pulling out interesting TOYS or SAFE AGE APPROPRIATE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS after the food and hands are cleaned up. Special items reserved for just this time make it more doable. The twins natural curiosity will help the time go quickly….