Baby-led weaning: the basics

Baby-led weaning is not a new concept. For generations, parents have been letting their children feed themselves and explore food at their own pace. Recently this method has come back into the spotlight as research into the topic has got people talking again about different ways to encourage their little ones to learn to love solid food, and naturally reduce their milk intake.

In a nutshell, baby-led weaning is simply allowing your baby to let you know when he is ready to start solid food, and then letting him join in family mealtimes, giving him the opportunity to choose what he wants to eat, and dictate the pace at which he does that. There are no purees, and no spoon-feeding.

Baby-led weaning has some great benefits for your baby and for you. You will

• Enjoy mealtimes as a family
• Save time and money
• Help your baby have a fun experience of food
• Give your child an opportunity to enjoy a variety of textures and flavours
• Be able to relax about the amount your child is consuming
• Help to encourage independent behaviour
• Aid your baby's development of crucial skills like hand-eye coordination
• Minimise mealtime battles
• Allow your baby to eat at her own pace, and remain in control of the process
• See your baby learn to chew, which can aid speech development

At the end of the day, though, whatever method of weaning you choose, there will always be a degree of mess. Whether that's because your baby suddenly turns her head as you try to pop a spoonful of food in, or the point at which your child is learning to feed herself. Mess is part and parcel of having children, but it does help to be prepared.

At some point around the 6-month mark (it may be a little later for some, especially premature babies), your baby will give you a clear signal that he is ready to try solid food for himself. This will probably be the day that your baby reaches out, grabs some food off your plate, and tries taking it to his mouth!

At that point, you can then start to think about offering your baby a small selection of finger foods to try, whenever he's awake and happy, and you're eating.

During this initial period, even though it feels counter-intuitive, you should give your baby the opportunity to discover food at times when he isn't hungry. At this stage, your baby's hunger will be satisfied by milk feeds, and he will be far more likely to show an interest in exploring solid food when he isn't tired or hungry.

Don't worry about the amount he's actually getting into his tummy - this will happen gradually over a period of weeks or months, as his body needs it and he develops the necessary feeding skills.

Your baby must be:

• Sitting up straight
• Supervised at all times
• Allowed to stay in control
• Allowed enough time
• Offered a balanced food choice

Fruit and vegetables are a great place to start; long batons of cooked carrot, broccoli florets with a long piece of stalk to act as a handle, baby corn, strips of just-ripe pear. It is imperative that you remove any stones or large pips from fruit, and also make sure that you cut things like grapes and cherries in half.

Basically, anything your baby can grab in his fist and take to his mouth is perfect. Do avoid whole nuts and honey until your baby is one, and don't add salt or sugar to his food.

For more information, this ebook reference guide is a fantastic starting point:

http://www.babyled-weaning.com

For a more comprehensive look at baby-led weaning, then you can get hold of a copy of Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett's book on the subject.

Find some people in your neighbourhood, or online, who are trying baby-led weaning, and give it a go!