Baby-led weaning

It facilitates oral motor development and strongly focuses on the family meal, while maintaining eating as a positive, interactive experience.

Baby-led weaning (term self-attributed to Michael Barrientos[4]) places the emphasis on exploring taste, texture, color and smell as the baby sets their own pace for the meal, choosing which foods to concentrate on.

[6] The intention of this process is that it is tailored to suit the individual baby and their personal development, and that the infant’s appetite is respected with regard to which foods are chosen, the pace of eating, and how much is eaten.

This guidance is based on research indicating that it is from this age that infants begin to need additional nutrients that cannot be supplied by breastmilk or formula alone.

This reflexive way of eating allows infants to feed from birth (from a breast or bottle) while protecting their airway and meeting their nutritional needs.

This is generally seen as an integral part of the process of introducing solid foods and an important step in the acquisition of chewing skills.

Conversely, professionals experienced in baby-led weaning note that effective chewing tends to appear sooner in infants who are not exposed to purees.

[14] Through playful exploration and handling food, babies learn about texture and are able to practice new oral motor skills without any pressure to eat.

The baby learns most effectively by watching and imitating others, while allowing her to eat the same food at the same time as the rest of the family contributes to a positive weaning experience.

Additionally, a child who has the trunk and head control to sit independently though a meal (proximal stability) will more likely demonstrate coordinated ability to move the tongue and jaw for chewing.

Parents following baby-led weaning are advised to avoid classic “choking hazards” or airway shaped foods: whole grapes, coin-shaped slices of hotdogs, cherry tomatoes, etc.

[17] However, another 2020 study headed by child health specialist Charlotte M. Wright from the University of Glasgow, Scotland found that while baby-led weaning works for most babies, it could lead to nutritional problems for children who develop more slowly than others.

Wright concluded "that it is more realistic to encourage infants to self-feed with solid finger food during family meals, but also give them spoon fed purees.

"[18] A study published in 2011 at the University of Nottingham by Ellen Townsend and Nicola J. Pitchford suggests that baby-led weaning may lead to less obesity in childhood.