You don't have to be a parent of a Special Needs child, a teacher, or a therapist to enter able2able giveaways. This giveaway is open to continental U.S. only and winners of previous Baby Dipper LLC giveaways are not eligible. New to blog giveaways, and a little nervous? Check out able2able's Blog Giveaway FAQ's.

The winner is... Louis! You have been emailed and have until 11:59 pm CDT Monday to reply to my email or contact me with your shipping info or Random.org will be used to select another winner.

Do you have a young child struggling with self-feeding or a baby still learning to handle a spoon? Does your little one seem kind of stuck when it comes to using a spoon and bowl or is the progress too slow? Perhaps your Special Needs child is refusing to feed himself? Are you trying to wean an uninterested child from a gtube? If any of these scenarios sound like mealtime in your home, then consider trying a Baby Dipper Bowl.

Clara-Bear will be 5 in August and does pretty good self-feeding with a fork but was still struggling with a spoon. Her problem was obvious. She does not use both hands together when she eats (poor bilateral coordination). We got her a supportive chair, tried different consistencies of food, and of course I bought a variety of infant and toddler bowls. Nothing helped.

Every once in a blue moon she'll brace a bowl with her right hand as she scoops with the left, but the majority of the time she feeds herself like an infant. Like an infant, she wears more calories than she consumes. Unlike an infant, she's been slow to advance to using both hands. By slow, I mean eating the same way for years. At some point, she actually decided that it was not worth it to eat with a spoon. There were no fits or acting out. She just stopped trying. She would often just sit and stare at her bowl.



Many parents think that their children do this as a manipulation or to be lazy. But Clara-Bear is also very independent. There are some things that she will not do if she cannot do it herself. Feeding herself is on that list. With her fine motor issues and poor core stability, weaning her off her gtube was just a fantasy until she had enough coordination and core strength to feed herself. We were both frustrated with the slow spoon feeding progress and I had run out of creative ideas to solve this problem.

When I saw the tagline for Baby Dipper Bowls I got excited. Easy feeding! Use only one hand! "That us!" I thought. Here's the scoop on these funky little bowls:

• The triangular-shaped Baby Dipper bowl enables one-handed feeding of infants and makes self-feeding easy for toddlers.
  
• Parents can use their free hand to clean or entertain baby,to keep baby’s hands out of the bowl while feeding baby, or to give oral-motor support.
  
• The Baby Dipper bowl's unique, patented triangular shape and sloped interior reduce frustrations because your little one doesn't have to chase the food around the bowl and the bowl around the table (this was our problem!).
  
• Bowls are BPA-free, phtlatate-free, and lead-free.

We were blessed to get a complimentary Baby Dipper Bowl set (it comes with a spoon and fork) for review prior to this giveaway. I loved it as soon as I held it in my hand and felt how solid it is compared to traditional baby bowls. I have used countless suction cup bottomed products and the non-slip bottom of the Baby Dipper feels more secure to me. It can still be thrown, but your baby or child will not have to deal with it spinning or sliding around the table while eating.



And Clara-Bear? She's is doing great with her Baby Dipper bowl! It's rare to find a true "magic bullet" solution to her delays, but the Baby Dipper Bowl was exactly what she needed to increase self-feeding confidence. Frustration is no longer holding her back! Now that she can feed herself with a spoon she is eating more and learning to regulate how much food she scoops up. She's usually a leftie, but when she wants to eat with her right hand she will turn the bowl so her spoon follows the slope. She feels the difference in the unique design and is using it to her advantage. The little girl who would go hungry rather than use a spoon is even gaining weight!



This success has motivated both of us. Seeing how radical a change this has been for Clara-Bear has also made me more aware of how many challenges and frustrations she faces throughout her day. It's also makes me wonder what else she could do with the right accommodations. I'm extra motivated to keep trying to find ways to open doors for her!

The Baby Dipper Bowl is sold in a set with a spoon and fork and retails for $12.95. Facebook fans can get 10% off their Baby Dipper Bowl purchase by using the shop tab on the Baby Dipper Facebook page. One lucky able2able reader will win a Baby Dipper Bowl Set!

To enter this giveaway, post a comment following the rules below (scroll to the end of the comments and click on "post a comment"). You have the opportunity to enter this giveaway up to 19 times!!:

All entries must have an email address or a public profile. Email me for directions on how to post anonymous entries without sharing your email address.

Mandatory 1st entry: Visit Baby Dipper and post a comment about something you learned from that site. There's plenty to choose from on this great site so enjoy your browsing!

The mandatory first entry must be completed before you can complete any of the following additional entries! You can choose to do one or all of these additional entries in any order.

For an additional 1 entry: Follow Baby Dipper on Twitter.

For an additional 1 entry: Subscribe to the Baby Dipper Newsletter.

For an additional 3 entries: Become a public follower My Double Life, the blog of Baby Dipper's inventor Barbara Schantz, who is the mother of two sets of twins.

For an additional 1 entry: Enter another able2able giveaway. Post the name of the giveaway you enter in a comment here, and while you're there post the name of this giveaway for an additional entry!

For an additional 1 entry: Become a Facebook Fan of able2able... Your Special Needs Resource Directory and post a shout out comment on the fanpage wall. Current Facebook Fans may post an entry.

For an additional 3 entries: Become a public follower of able2able. Post 3 separate comments for your entries as a new follower. Current able2able followers may enter 3 times.

For an additional 2 entries: Post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook status. Post a comment for each entry. Click "Share" at the end of this post to quickly spread the word.

For an additional 2 entries: Tweet the link to this giveaway. Post a comment for each entry. Click on "Share" at the end of this post to quickly spread the word.

For an additional 4 entries: Blog about this giveaway! Your blog post must include links to this giveaway and to Baby Dipper Bowls. Include a link to your blog post in your comment. You must post a comment for each entry.

It is very important that you post a comment for each entry. Why? Because a random number generator will be used to select the winner. Each comment will be numbered by Blogger, and I will use those numbers for the drawing. So if you combine entries into one post all your entries will not be counted. There will be no do-overs!

I will verify that the winning entry has met the requirements above, so if your comment for a FB status update is the winning comment then I might ask to see that link, etc. If I cannot verify your entry, then all your entries will be removed from the list and the drawing will be repeated.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 pm (CT) on Thursday, July 8th.

The winner's name will be posted on able2able on Friday, July 9th and I will also email you. The lucky winner will have until 11:59 pm (CT) Monday, July 12th to contact me.

Warning - I have been having problems with Gmail holding my sent emails then releasing them with a new release date. I cannot be responsible if your email notice gets delayed by gmail so check back at this post or on Facebook to see if you won!

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I was given a Baby Dipper Bowl Set for review. This review was not influenced by any products I received. The results my daughter experienced with the Baby Dipper Bowl are her own, your child's experience might be different.

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