90/90/90: Why Your Baby Needs Their Feet To Eat

As a dietitian who has supported families with weaning their babies, addressing feeding challenges, and much more for over 15 years, there is one aspect of the mealtime environment that is so often overlooked for children – and that is their seating.

How your baby or child is seated at mealtimes may be further down your priority list – but it is more important than you think, and for some children, it can transform mealtimes.  And here’s why….

How should your baby/child be seated at mealtimes?

Stable, supported, and secure are three key phrases I want you to remember regarding children’s seating. While this may seem obvious, the reality is that many highchairs and chairs I often see children eating on are missing one crucial component – foot support. The easiest way to ‘explain’ why this is important is to ask you, dear reader, to do the following: 

Sit down on a chair and lift your feet off the floor (and for extra effort, move your back away from the seat back).

It’s very likely you’ve just felt your core muscles wake up, and if you now imagine using your hands and eating an entire meal like that, the likelihood is you’d struggle to manage, try to adjust your seating position, or get tired quickly!

Yet, many babies lack foot support on highchairs, and older children transition to adult chairs at the table, which are not designed to keep them stable, supported, and secure at the table.  

This can impact eating in a variety of ways, including:  

• Reduced safety – feeling stable and secure is crucial when babies learn to eat during weaning and master the skill of self-feeding. I often observe that engagement with finger foods improves for babies once they have some foot support at mealtimes, as their bodies have less demand to stay upright.  

• Tiring more quickly — babies and young children may tire more quickly during meals due to the effort required to remain upright. They may compensate by leaning to one side in their highchair or slowing/stopping feeding.  

• Fidgeting and moving – many parents report that their toddler or older child is constantly moving at mealtimes, perhaps kneeling on the seat, placing their feet on your chair, or even standing. This often happens when their feet are dangling, and they are instinctively seeking ways to feel more secure and stable at the table.  

• Better able to focus on learning – when feet are supported, less effort and attention are needed to stay upright, allowing energy and effort to be redirected towards exploring, self-feeding, and more.

What is the optimum position for feeding?

Remember 90/90/90 – 90 degrees at your child’s hips, knees, and ankles. Your child should ideally be seated in a position that promotes head, trunk, and pelvic alignment, with their feet supported on a footrest (of some sort), alongside being seated at the correct height for a tray or table. Good positioning helps promote effective hand skills, safe swallowing, and concentration skills when eating.

How can you provide food support at mealtimes for your baby or child?

Wherever possible, I recommend choosing a highchair with an adjustable footrest that can move as your baby grows. You can often find attachments and adaptations for popular highchairs online. Some chairs, which are usually more expensive, have adjustable seats and footrests but can last through weaning and to the family table until your child is well into primary school age.

You can also use makeshift footrests, such as exercise resistance bands or firmly tied tea towels between highchair legs, as an alternative.

For older children, it can also be helpful to have a step or box under their feet and a cushion behind their back to move them forward in an adult chair so their knees fold over the edge at a 90-degree angle.