Have you been thinking about buying a Subo food bottle but you’re feeling a bit cautious about it? After all, these people haven’t seen what your child can do with a bowl of spaghetti!
Maybe you’re on a mission to cut back on single-use plastic. Or you simply want to make life easier as you rush out the door.
Either way, the reusable Subo food bottle is the perfect solution.
Getting the most out of your new food bottle is important. After all, you’ve committed to making this change - you don’t need another ‘must have’ item in your drawer, giving you the guilts each time you see it.
Rest easy, parents. We’ve compiled a few top tips for getting the most out of your Subo food bottle.
#1: Use the straw spout
Younger children can find it hard to get their head around using a straw or spout for the first time. It takes time and patience to work it out as they learn a new skill. Some children get it the first time and others take more convincing.
The smaller spout is perfect for getting babies used to using the food bottle and avoiding frustration, which can lead to food refusal. The food is close to the spout so they get the hang of the bottle much quicker.
The smaller spout also discourages those little fingers that like to poke into everything. By the time your child graduates to the larger spout, they’re likely to have grown out of the need to investigate the opening.
#2: Start with favourite foods
Parents occasionally have to resort to all sorts of trickery to get their child to accept something new. Babies and toddlers are a suspicious bunch and will reject food if it’s new and unfamiliar.
This can pose a problem when you’re introducing the Subo food bottle for the first time. A great way to encourage your child to accept using the food bottle is to start with their favourite foods, even if that means strawberry flavoured yoghurt snacks for three days in a row!
Favourite foods are familiar and reduce the resistance to trying something new. Over time, replace a snack with something else, but only a little at a time. The convenient thing about the Subo food bottle is that you can add a small amount of food to avoid wastage if you think your child might need to go at a slower pace.
#3: Start when hungry but not starving
When your child is hungry and has to wait for a snack, do they wait quietly and patiently, or stand at the kitchen bench loudly demanding food, or even start raiding the pantry?
Kids have a tendency not to notice they’re hungry until they’re starving! Then they need to be fed immediately or they can tip over into being ‘hangry’ - hungry and angry about it! When they’re in this state they want something NOW to satisfy their hunger.
When starting with Subo, prefill the food bottle with a favourite food so it’s ready to go when your child is due for a snack. That way, you know they’re ready to fill their tummies but not starving and more open to giving the Subo food bottle a go.
Keep offering snacks in your Subo when your child is hungry but not hangry and soon it’ll be the most natural option for them.
#4: Let them drive
How often have you been trying to feed your child and they want to take over the spoon? Independence shows up pretty early on when your child starts solids.
Self feeding is an important developmental stage, allowing them to develop skills like coordination, picking things up, and experiencing textures and temperatures. They start to express preferences for tastes and learn how to judge when they are full or still hungry.
Of course this often involves mess! Grabbing food and getting it to their own mouth takes practice and there’s often more on the floor than in their tummy! And let’s be honest, little kids LOVE smearing squishy things because it’s fun!
Having time to actually handle their own food is valuable but it’s less convenient to have yoghurt exploded all over the pram or car when you’re out and about.
The Subo food bottle gives your child the independence of feeding themselves while putting food directly into their mouth. They can’t make a mess, but they can take over the reins and decide when they’re full and hold the bottle on their own.
#5: Older siblings need a Subo too
A great way to entice your little one to use a Subo food bottle, is to sit them next to an older sibling who is devouring their favourite snack straight from their Subo. Afterall, Subo is not just for babies and toddlers. Older kids, love them too.
Generally, younger kids look up to their older siblings and even though they don't know it, babies are just as susceptible to FOMO (fear of missing out) as the rest of us. So set your kids up next to each other, and watch your little one's interest peak, when they see how much your older child enjoys their Subo.
Don't miss out on mess-free convenient feeding - check out the range of Subo food bottle products on our website or retailers across Australia and New Zealand.
