Baby-led weaning, or BLW, means letting your baby feed themselves with finger foods from six months rather than spoon-feeding them purees to begin with.
It was first advocated in 2006 by infant feeding expert Gill Rapley. She pointed out that most six-month-olds have all the skills they need to feed themselves. They can:
- sit upright
- grasp food and move it to their mouths
- move food from the front to the back of their mouths.
(Read more about how your baby’s development affects their nutrition.)
Provided your baby has developed these skills and you keep an eye on them, it’s argued, it is safe to simply offer them a selection of soft finger foods, such as cooked broccoli spears or pasta shapes, and let them feed themselves from the word go.
Although there isn’t much scientific research to back up the baby-led weaning method, it’s becoming increasingly popular with parents in recent years.
What are the pros?
- Your baby is able to choose when and how much they want to eat, and this could lower the risk of picky eating later on.
- You don’t have to bother making purées.
- Your baby gets to practise chewing from the word go so is less likely to have problems with lumpy foods than babies weaned onto purées.
- It allows your baby to share family meals earlier.
What are the cons?
- It’s very messy!
- You’ll need to allow your baby plenty of time to eat.
- Some experts think babies who feed themselves may not get as many nutrients as babies fed on purées, particularly if they are slow developers.
How do you do it?
Whether or not you start your baby off on purées or finger foods is up to you. You may want to give your baby a combination of both. If you would like to try baby-led weaning:
- Always wait until your baby is at least six months old.
- Make sure you always stay with your baby while they eat.
- Follow the usual guidelines about which foods are safe for babies to eat and which aren’t.
- Offer your baby soft finger foods that are easy to handle, such as cooked carrot sticks, pasta tubes and pieces of ripe pear.
- Be prepared for lots of mess.
- Eat with your baby – they will learn feeding skills by watching you.