Babies are encouraged to self feed using what is called the “pincher grasp” where they pinch the food between their thumb and first finger. They indeed spend months to a year of their life sustaining themselves in this fashion. I, on the other hand, have a theory behind the true method in which babies and toddlers alike feed themselves. We’ll call it the “sticky theory”. The truth behind the “fine motor skill” that allows a baby to sustain themselves, when too stubborn to allow momma to use a spoon, is that babies themselves, hands especially, are covered in a thick and solid layer of “sticky”. As such, the food in which they desire simply sticks to their fingers, not unlike a magnet to fridge.
And thus we have, the Sticky Theory.