Starting solids is a giant milestone in your toddler’s life, and it’s completely common to have questions. From deciding when it’s time to begin to deciding on between do-it-yourself or pre-made baby meals (hint: every are OK)─all of it seems like tons. Current solutions state that parents ought to attend until the age of 6 months to introduce solids to current time for a kid’s digestive tract to mature, however along with permit them to take a seat upright inside the appropriate place for meals.
Whereas these are pure milestones every toddler will attain at their very personal tempo, the 90-90-90 rule takes feeding time solutions one step further. Utilized by pediatric feeding specialists, this rule promotes probably the greatest and most safe posture for littles when starting solids─and using the acceptable highchair might make it less complicated to get it correct. Proper right here’s what it is important know.
What is the 90-90-90 rule?
The 90-90-90 rule for consuming refers again to the supreme posture for a child sitting at a desk. This means their hips are flexed at a 90-degree angle, knees bent at a 90-degree angle, and ft flat on a flooring with the spine upright.
Supreme positioning isn’t practically being able to take a seat upright (although that’s great vital) however as well as about how the physique is supported. We might take into account feeding as solely involving enter from the mouth, nevertheless your toddler takes sensory information throughout the physique through proprioception. Proprioception is physique consciousness, or how the physique senses and controls movement in home. As pediatric occupational therapist Marielle Marquez explains, “The 90-90-90 rule provides good proprioceptive solutions to the child’s joints, which promotes physique consciousness and focus.”
Whereas it couldn’t appear to be an enormous deal in case your toddler’s ft aren’t supported or within the occasion that they aren’t pretty sitting up straight, kids are at a rather a lot elevated hazard of choking as a consequence of immature motor skills. Plus, the 90-90-90 rule promotes focus and focus to reduce distractions. “When kids have their ft planted flat on the bottom, it helps them to essentially really feel grounded and promotes stability within the the rest of their physique,” Marquez explains, which promotes safe swallowing to reduce the opportunity of choking.
Giant kids can revenue from optimum posture whereas sitting, too
It isn’t merely your little ones who can revenue from working in direction of the 90-90-90 rule whereas consuming. The equivalent concepts apply properly previous the first few years. Anyone with a child (of any age) has expert the wiggles, nevertheless primarily based on Marquez, the equivalent proprioceptive enter may additionally assist older kids focus and keep engaged.
“90-90-90 provides the postural stability wished to jot down clearly and to stay alert and engaged,” she says, further explaining that the acceptable set-up in school and residential may additionally assist your toddler attain any actions that require focusing or good motor skills.
Proper right here’s how one can implement the 90-90-90 rule for feeding at dwelling
The suitable highchair or booster seat may additionally enable you naturally implement the 90-90-90 rule at dwelling. Marquez recommends defending your eye on how your toddler’s ft land on the footrest. “Most likely probably the most frequent challenges I uncover with highchairs is that there is each no footrest or it is too low for the child to essentially place their ft flat on,” she says. “Some highchairs are additionally in a very reclined place, and the child can on no account sit completely upright at 90 ranges.”
Fortuitously, just some highchair producers have caught on to these expert solutions. “The Stokke Tripp Trapp and Abiie Previous highchairs are a couple of of my favorites on account of they’re so adaptable to the child’s specific individual physique,” shares Marquez. These highchairs provide adjustable footrests, seat depth, and peak to fit your toddler utterly.
Motherly editors moreover love the model new Mockingbird highchair with its 4-position selections for the footrest that lets you modify to your toddler’s dimension (and would possibly ultimate properly previous the first few meals).
These highchairs make it great easy to incorporate the 90-90-90 rule into your toddler’s daily routine. And equivalent to promoting healthful consuming habits, starting early helps your toddler develop good posture and core vitality, setting them up for healthful habits in the long run.






Featured specialists
Marielle Marquez is a partner, mom of two, and a pediatric occupational therapist with a specialty in feeding and swallowing. Uncover her on-line at https://thrivelittle.com/.
Sources
Borowitz SM. First Bites-Why, When, and What Secure Meals to Feed Infants. Entrance Pediatr. 2021;9:654171. Revealed 2021 Mar 26. doi:10.3389/fped.2021.65417
A mannequin of this story was initially printed on Dec. 3, 2023. It has been updated.