Are you considering baby-led weaning for your baby? When your baby is ready to start solids, baby-led weaning, instead of traditional weaning or spoon-feeding has so many benefits! Read below to learn about the most important baby-led weaning benefits.
What is Baby-Led Weaning?
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Baby-led weaning is a method of introducing solids that differs from the traditional spoon-fed method most of us are familiar with. Gillian Rapely wrote the penultimate guide to baby-led weaning, which I highly recommend to any family beginning the baby-led weaning process. She even wrote a cookbook highlighting lots of yummy foods appropriate for babies and whole families to enjoy!
Baby-led weaning generally begins at six months. Some parents begin slightly later if baby is not yet showing readiness signs of sitting upright, good head and torso control and the ability to bring objects to their mouth.
Baby-led weaning suggests you should offer baby table foods similar to what you eat, rather than giving purees. Foods are initially cut into long thin sticks so baby can gnaw on them. Later on, as baby’s grasp develops, smaller foods can be introduced.
Babies are encouraged to sample almost any food their parents eat (with the exception of honey and choking hazards like whole nuts). Slight modifications may need to be made such as cutting food into graspable shapes reducing salt content and toning down spicy foods.
Baby-led weaning is a wonderful method for introducing solids to your baby. We used this method for our first-born and were so impressed with the wide range of benefits it presented. Now we are introducing solids in the same way to our younger daughter.
Read on below to learn about the many benefits of baby-led weaning!
Baby-led Weaning Benefits
More Adventurous Eaters
Being a more adventurous eater is an imporant baby-led weaning benefit. Babies get used to new tastes and textures right from the start of their experience with solids. Their diet is varied in both taste and texture/consistency of food. Many babies are very adventurous with tasting new foods when they are very young (6-8 months).
Babies who have been spoon-fed are used to one texture: mush. They may resist when other textures are offered later on. Most baby food is pretty plain and doesn’t taste that great. Babies may develop a preference for very plain foods as they get older if that is the only taste to which they have been exposed.
Learning to Know When They’re Full
If you choose to baby-led wean, you present food to your baby and they decide how much (if any) to eat. Because babies are encouraged to be in charge when doing baby-led weaning (hence the ‘baby-led’ part), they are in charge of deciding when they are full.
When introducing solids, spoon-fed babies are usually not in charge of when they are finished eating. Mom or Dad usually keeps feeding until the bowl is empty (or at least until baby absolutely can’t be cajoled into taking another bite). Ever played ‘airplane’ with a baby who is just not wanting to eat? You avoid this with baby-led weaning.
This is similar to breastfed vs. bottle-fed babies. Breastfed babies simply stop drinking when they’re full. However bottle-fed babies may be encouraged to keep drinking until the bottle is done, whether they are hungry or full.
Learning when you are full has great benefits in adult life. Knowing to stop eating when you are full can lead to better eating habits and less chance of becoming overweight as an adult.
Learning how to Manipulate Food in their Mouth
Another baby-led weaning benefit is that babies learn to manipulate food in their mouths from very early on. Spoon-fed babies learn to slurp their baby food, then be re-trained to manipulate and chew food once table food is introduced.
It’s interesting to know that the gag reflex is up quite close to the opening of the mouth, away from the throat when babies are very young. This is a protective measure, so babies can practice manipulating their food, but will start to gag and spit out the chunks of food before they go too far back and become a choking hazard.
As babies get older (9-10 months), the gag reflex moves farther back in the throat. If you spoon-feed and wait to introduce ‘real people food’ until later, they may be in more danger of choking as this protective factor is not there.
Spoon-fed babies are also used to slurping their food to the back of the mouth/throat. When you introduce chunks of food, they will need to unlearn this so they chew the food instead of just swallowing chunks whole.
Pleasant Family Mealtimes
Baby-led weaning benefits extend to the whole family. Families who use baby-led weaning find mealtimes are pleasant and enjoyable. The whole family can dine together in a relaxed atmosphere (no need to take shifts eating while the other parent entertains baby). You can eat your meal as baby eats theirs.
No Need to Prep Baby Food
Many parents opt to prep their own baby food, which can be a time-consuming task! Instead, with baby-led weaning, baby can share in family meals right from the start (you may need to alter your meals slightly by cooking veggies well and using a bit less salt). You will still have the benefit of knowing your baby is eating freshly-prepared food with no preservatives.
Fine Motor Skills
When babies feed themselves, they are using their fine motor skills (making small, precise and controlled movements) non-stop. In order to get food to their mouths, babies are using their brain and working hard. Eating food is a great motivator to develop these skills! This is great practice and can result in very advanced fine motor skills at a young age.
Healthier Family Diet
Because baby-led weaning is all about having baby join in the family meal, you will probably make some adjustments to your meals to suit baby’s needs.
For example, since babies cannot consume high levels of salt, you might reduce the salt you cook with overall or reduce the amount of pre-prepared food you buy.
Likewise, you may find you’re adding more veggies to your family meals or trying new, healthier options for the sake of the baby.
Needless to say, healthier meals benefit the whole family, not just your baby!
Between a healthier family life and a more adventurous eater, baby-led weaning benefits are varied and so beneficial to baby and family! I cannot recommend baby-led weaning enough to any family!
What are your top concerns when introducing solids to your baby? Comment below!
