Baby-led Weaning and Raising an Intuitive Eater

I know there are lots of opinions, fearmongering and shaming out there when it comes to raising children. This blog does not aim to add to it, but rather, give you information which will help you decide which method of weaning best-suits you.  

If you’re here, you’re probably wondering what baby-led weaning is and if it’s suitable to you and your little one. Weaning typically begins around 6 months of age. Sometimes it can start earlier if your little one is showing signs of readiness and your healthcare professional advised you to start. Signs of readiness are ability to hold their head and body up and still, ability to bring objects to their mouth and an ability to chew. Remember: always check with your healthcare professional before beginning weaning to ensure your little one is ready.

Baby-led weaning and Intuitive Eating, I think, sit very well together. Baby-led weaning is where you present little one with food and allow them to feed themselves. Baby-led weaning is not suitable for little ones before 6 months of age. You could start by cooking some veggies like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnips etc. Make sure they’re large enough for little one to hold, so a broccoli floret or a 1-2cm cubed chip-like shape of carrot etc. You can cook this by steaming/boiling. Make sure they’re still holding their shape but aren’t raw. It’s best to start with vegetables as they have a bitter taste which needs to be learnt to liked. Sweet foods like fruit can be introduced slightly after as we have an innate sweet tooth and are more likely to like these foods. From here, you can give breads, meats, eggs, etc. It’s important to concentrate on iron rich foods, be that plant-based or animal. It is possible to provide purees, cereals etc while doing baby-led weaning. In this instance, you can begin by spooning the food onto the spoon and giving the spoon to the child so they feed themselves. Yes, it will be messy at the beginning as they learn to use a spoon, but they will get there eventually!

Benefits to baby-led weaning:

·        Baby controls their hunger level and is able to refuse food

·        By not spoon feeding the child, the chance of choking actually goes down

·        You’re not hiding foods and tastes (like in purees where vegetables are mixed with fruit and it’s difficult to get the true tastes)

·        Improved coordination

·        Experience of a variety of textures

·        They develop their ability to chew

Is this safe?

Always watch children while they eat and keep distractions like the TV, phones, other people, to a minimum. A child’s gag reflex is very sensitive, and it’s what makes baby-led weaning safe. When a child gags, don’t panic! A child’s gag reflex trigger point is very large, and they will gag. This doesn’t mean they don’t like the food, it’s just them learning the boundaries of their mouth.

Look at it this way – you provide the food options and quantity, and little one chooses what they have in what order and how much.

How this relates to Intuitive Eating? The entire process respect little ones hunger and satiety. I know it can be worrying if you think your little one isn’t eating much food today, but if you start pressuring them to eat certain foods, they’re more likely to refuse. You may win the battle, but not the war.

While foods can be nutritionally unequal, they all have a purpose in our diet, and language used around the dinner table can either hinder or strengthen their Intuitive Eating. For example, describing foods as good, bad, healthy etc can cause a dichotomy. Instead, describe individual foods by their textures, colours, tastes etc.  Don’t pre-emptively tell a child they’ll dislike or like a food before they’ve even tried it. Allow them to tell you their experience. If you don’t like certain foods, keep it to yourself! You’re their role model and they will model your behaviours. As they grow into children, it’ll be even more important to protect their Intuitive Eating as more of the principles will come into play.

Last thing - It’s completely normal for their taste preferences to change from one day to another. If they’ve refused a food, that doesn’t mean you stop serving it. Continue serving previously refused foods as their taste preferences change very frequently, and they won’t learn to like things if not given the opportunity!

If you need support with weaning, book a Discovery Call and lets start your journey!