Baby-Led Weaning

When any child starts at the Nursery we take some time to talk to parents and understand the child’s habits and routines. When we spoke to Leni’s Mum on her initial pre-visit we were intrigued to hear that Leni was going through the process of Baby-Led Weaning. We had heard of the technique but had never come across anyone who actually used the method.

As this was completely different to our training and experience we were initially worried that Leni would choke but her mum re-assured us and provided literature for us to understand the process properly. The most valuable resource being Gill Rapley’s book ‘Baby-Led Weaning’. To us the theory completely makes sense - if babies are in control of what goes into their mouths they can control the volume of food in their mouths and are less likely to choke. Babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew and they do not develop the ability to chew, until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. So by forcing food into a child’s mouth at a pace that they aren’t comfortable with, you could cause choking, which Baby-Led Weaning avoids.

Leni is given her food in a bowl, and broken into pieces, which she will either put on a spoon herself, or she will select the food with her hands and put it to her mouth. There is no need to cut pieces up too much as the bigger they are the better they are to grip.

She chooses what she will eat, decides what foods she does and doesn’t like and also decides how much she eats. Leni can’t talk yet, so she generally uses non-verbal communication to let us know when she wants more- using facial expressions, pouting, bodily actions or sometimes verbally by shouting.

Most children of Leni’s age will drink using a bottle or a non spill cup like a tippy cup, but Leni drinks her milk and water from an open top cup. She places her hands on either side and tips it up for herself, only needing help to steady the cup – which she is needing less help to do so.

Through a combination of research and trial and error Leni’s Mum was able to give us at the nursery, some great foundations to work with. At meal times Leni should be:

• Sat in an upright position
• Offered foods that stick out of her hand
• The only person who puts food in her own mouth
• In control of her eating pace- don’t hurry her
• Left to decide how much she eats- don’t force her to eat if she doesn’t want to, leave her to eat what she wants and that is enough
• Don’t leave her on her own with food
• Handed her spoon pre-loaded for her to feed herself if serving sloppy food eg soup

Through trying this process out in our setting we have a deeper insight into the process of Baby-Led Weaning. Leni enjoys all her meals and has a great appetite whilst making choices for herself, we have even tried the process with the other children, and it has had a positive impact for all concerned.

The literature that we have read suggests that overall Baby-Led Weaning children will inevitably be less picky eaters, have advanced fine motor skills and develop good table manners faster. Let us know what you think of Baby-Led Weaning by posting a comment here or pop by to our nursery open day on Saturday 21 May between 10.30 and 2.30 for a chat.

Kelly Marris, is an Early Year’s Practitioner at the Eureka! Nursery and is Head of the Baby Room

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