Baby Led Weaning is an important milestone in both baby and mother’s development.
Baby led weaning has different meanings depending on where you are from. Here, we will be referring to the UK sense, which is ‘adding complimentary foods’. In America, when this term is used it means ‘coming off of breast feeding’ so always make sure if you research this you know which sense they are using!
Now we have that cleared up; baby led weaning has recently been a hot topic of discussion. There has been an abundance of research that babies will start to reach for food at around the six-months-old mark. It is advised that this is the milestone where mothers are encouraged to begin the weaning process.
Traditionally, baby led weaning began at four-months-old where the mother fed their child pastes and purees, but latest research and WHO guidelines suggest that mothers no longer need to go through this process, which may be a relief to the blender as well to mum!
Instead, research has started to suggest that six-month-old babies are developmentally capable of reaching for solid foods and feeding it to themselves. They will begin the process of learning to chew their food, to spit it out and when to swallow.
Make sure when it comes to baby eating foods, always on hand to ensure there is no choking is crucial. As they grow older, the more curious they will become and will start to reach for foods that have not yet been cut up into bitesize chunks.
A fun idea could be to chop up loads of different foods with different textures and colours and let the baby have a feel and have fun with new foods. If they like the food, they will eat it and if they do not then they won’t – it is as simple as that!
This is the start of some exciting times, tasting and trying new foods with you and your family.