Introduction
Young babies constantly have their fists in their mouths. As they get a bit bigger every toy and bit of blanket also ends up in their mouths. Then, when they are mobile, there's a whole range of household objects to put in there!
However, babies learn by using their hands and mouth to explore. Until your child is around 7 months they can only grip objects rather than stroke, prod or poke with her fingers. They put interesting things in their mouth because the nerve endings there are the most sensitive in their body - plus they have good control of their lips, gums and tongue.
It makes no sense to try to stop them. Just make sure that anything they can reach is safe to suck and not too small.
How CBeebies can help
You may be very safety conscious and remove all the little things from around the house, but older children may not be so worried.
In Nuzzle and Scratch's Hoof & Safety episode 'Here's Looking At Chew', they talk to children about looking out for small objects when babies are around.
You can watch this clip again on CBeebies. See our 'Answers from the web' section for the link.
How to make a magic moment
Make the most of your baby's desire to put things in their mouth by allowing them to play with food during family mealtimes.
Giving them an opportunity to explore food for themselves before you start weaning will help them to enjoy differing textures and tastes later on. Babies love exploring and finding out more about their food and drink by examining them with their hands and mouth.
Your baby will love grasping at peas and squishing them, dipping their fingers in their drink and sucking them, and putting their hands in a puddle of juice and splashing.
They will probably attempt to put the food into their mouth although they may not actually eat it but that's fine. It might be incredibly messy, but it is a great learning experience.
