Design
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is designed to hold a certain amount of food for your baby to suck on or chew on. The mesh bag is attached to a ring that has a lid on it. The lid stays closed via a clasp that requires squeezing to open so your child will not be able to open the ring while they are eating and risk
spilling the
food out of the mesh holder while they are feeding. When closed, the ring also has a handle so that your child can hold the entire mesh holder themself without the aid of a parent having to hold the feeder for them. The feeder also comes in a variety of colors that will also stimulate your child’s visual senses as they eat.
How It Works
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is a safe way for your child to eat solid food. As your baby begins to transition from soft, mushy
baby food to solid adult food there is always the risk of choking. What the Fresh Food Feeder does is give your child the opportunity to eat solid food by eliminating the risk of choking.
The holes in the mesh of the feeder are extremely small and only allow for a little bit of food to pass through the openings. Parents can put any kind of food in the feeder for their child to start eating. Parents have put in meat,
vegetables, fruit, and frozen food. Parents have made ice cubes out of milk and breast milk and put them in the bag for their child to suck on. Parents have also used frozen fruits as well.
As your child sucks on or chews on the mesh the food will be pressed and pushed out of the openings of the mesh and your child will be able to eat without large chunks of food or ice potentially getting stuck in their throats. What the mesh also does is prevents food from spilling all over the place by keeping the food secure in one place.
Although the mesh does a fantastic job of keeping food secure and keeping the risk of choking out of feeding time, one should never leave a child unattended while they are eating. It is recommended that you always sit with your child while they are feeding with the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder as anything can happen especially if your child has teeth or is starting to teeth because your child could very well rip a hole in the mesh and too much food could come out of the netting and cause them to choke.
Quality Time
Feeding time is a great opportunity for parents and children to bond with each other. Dinner time or any
meal time for that matter has always been considered a time when everyone can sit around the table and talk and bond. The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder provides that same opportunity as parents should remain with their child while they are feeding, and since the feeder comes with a holding ring, Mom or Dad can sit and interact with their child without having to actually feed their child. Mom or Dad can
talk to their child and talk to them about their food and play with them at the same time.
Cleaning the Feeder
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is easy to clean and is dishwasher safe. If you choose to wash the feeder by hand, it is recommended that you soak the feeder in warm water with soap to break up any food that may have gotten into the seams of the feeding bag or in the actual holes of the mesh. The warm water and soap will lift the leftover food out of the feeder. After the mesh feeder has had enough time to soak, you can then take a soft bristled brush like a toothbrush and gently scrub the mesh to get out the rest of the food that may still be behind. After cleaning, all you have to do is let it air dry with the rest of your dishes and as soon as it’s dry you can then reuse the feeder.
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is also dishwasher safe, so if you choose to put the feeder in the dishwasher to clean it then all you have to do is put it on the top rack of the dishwasher so that the feeder can get completely clean. Do not put the feeder on a lower rack because the force of the water coming out of the dishwasher’s spout may pull apart and damage the feeder.
It should be noted that when you first open the feeders and remove them from their packaging, you should
wash them immediately before using them or putting any food inside of them. Also, never let the mesh go in your child’s mouth unless it has been completely cleaned and dried as leftover food or unclean mesh from the packaging can carry germs that will not only get your child sick but can also infect their gums and their teeth.
Caring For the Feeder
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder should never be used to prepare a meal. The purpose of the feeder is to simply hold the food that you have already cooked. The feeder should never be boiled, microwaved or put in the
oven. The feeder should never be put in the freezer or kept refrigerated as all of these changes in temperatures can weaken the mesh and while your child is eating the mesh could rip open and your child could potentially choke. The more care you take of the feeder the longer the feeder will last.
Always take care when cleaning the feeder as well, and the moment you notice the feeder is not coming clean or may have the littlest bit of damage, throw the feeder out and replace it for your child’s next feeding.
Colors
While your child is feeding, they can see the feeder. For this reason, Munchkin made the feeders in a variety of colors. The feeders can be purchased in yellow and green or blue and green. For a few dollars more, the feeders can also be purchased in the same colors but with stars on the
ring holder, and then for a few dollars more than that you can purchase the feeders in yellow and green or purple and pink with a heart on the handle. While your child is feeding they can also stimulate their sense of sight by having the opportunity to see the colors and shapes on the feeder. What’s more, is that parents can also color coordinate their child’s food. Certain foods can go in certain colored feeders that will give your child some control over what they eat as they can choose the color and the type of food that goes in that feeder. Certain colors can represent fruits and vegetables while the other color can represent frozen foods or meat. Games of this kind can get your child excited to eat and giving them some control over their cuisine will make feeding time fun.
Teething
Many parents have found that using the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder for
teething has been extremely useful. Parents have taken ice cubes or frozen foods and fruits and put them in the mesh and allowed their child to suck on or chew on the ice when they are teething. Because the mesh won’t allow for large chunks to be swallowed, parents can soothe their child’s sore gums while their child is also eating something that is nutritious and will help their child to continue to grow and develop until they can eat solid foods on their own. If a parent uses the mesh for teething only, simple ice cubes work well and when your child is done, the mesh will need minimal cleaning.
Parental Concerns
Many parents sing the praises of the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder; however, some parents have run into a few problems with the mesh. Most parental concerns have been that the food does not wash off especially soft foods like bananas. No amount of
scrubbing or dishwashing has been able to remove some of the food. Other parents have also found that the mesh weakens from continued use and that the feeders have lasted them only a few weeks at most. Fortunately, the feeders are not expensive and are easily replaced. One parent found that the color came off of one of the mesh feeders while their child was eating. It is recommended to wash the feeders before using them in order to ensure anything excess comes off completely.
Price
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is extremely affordable for two feeders. Each package comes with two feeders and contains the color and pattern scheme of your choice. If taken care of properly, the feeders can last parents a long
time making the purchase even more valuable. In the event that the feeders need to be replaced, the feeders are inexpensive enough that several of them can be purchased at one time so that there is always another feeder on hand. If the feeders do not last a long time and you choose not to the replace them, they were not very expensive to begin with and you still get your money’s worth and your child was able to start the transition to solid foods.
Conclusion
The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is a great buy for parents who want to help their child transition from baby food to solid food. The mesh feeder reduces the risk of choking and allows children to sample and taste foods like meat, chicken, and fish along with vegetables and fruits in a safe way that will help expand their palettes and allow them to try new and interesting food as they begin to develop their diet. The mesh is also great for holding the mushy food they are already used to like sweet potatoes, squash, and bananas. With the various color combinations,
feeding time becomes fun for your child and it also offers an opportunity for parents and children to spend time together during feeding time. With the holder ring on the bottom, children also begin the process of feeding themselves, which will eventually lead into them holding their own silverware and cups and bottles to create more independence when they eat. The Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder is a great buy for those parents who want to take their child’s development to the next level while keeping them healthy and in control.