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Baby-led eating

Babies will let you know when they are ready to eat with the family. For parents, knowing which foods are appropriate and when is the next big step

Teresa Pitman,

Originally published in Today's Parent January 2012

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Lee-Ann Grenier’s son, Elijah, was about five months old when he started showing real interest in eating with the family. “If he was awake for a meal, he sat on my lap and I gave him a spoon to hold,” says Grenier. He didn’t actually eat anything at five months, but by six months, Elijah figured out how to scoop some food off Mom’s plate and into his mouth. He must be ready for food, Grenier decided. She moved him to a high chair and scattered food on the tray. “One of his first loves was honeydew melon. I would give him fist-sized strips, and he would gnaw away at them.” Now eight months old, Elijah is an enthusiastic eater: “He sits in his chair and makes loud mmm noises until he has the food in his hands.”

But wait — what about the baby cereals? What about the puréed foods carefully spooned into the baby’s mouth? Not necessary, says Gill Rapley, the British health visitor (similar to a public health nurse in Canada), whose book Baby-Led Weaning has helped many parents adopt this easy way to start a baby on solid foods. (In the UK, the word “weaning” is used to describe starting solid foods.)

Rapley suggests parents first look for signs their baby is ready to start solids: sitting upright with little or no support; grabbing items and being able to reliably put things in her mouth. Then it’s simply a matter of giving her appropriate foods she can feed herself.

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