Baby-led weaning (BLW), is an emerging method of introducing solids to a child’s diet, for the kids. In contrast to traditional weaning which entails spoon-feeding babies pureed foods, parents who follow BLW simply offer their kids a variety of finger foods from the start (six months onwards) and allow them to self-feed.
The term baby-led weaning was coined by British public nurse and lactation counsellor Gill Rapley in 2005. She promoted the system as a means to raise independent and happy eaters.
NO AEROPLANE-SPOON OR BABY CEREALS:-
One of t he key principles of BLW is not using ‘baby food’, be it popular store-bought cereal mixes or homemade purees and watered-down foods like dal ka panni as they contain little nutritional value. BLW encourages parents to serve kids from the ‘family pot’ by the time child is seven or eight months. This means the child is served whatever is made for adults without salt, sugar, or chilly (till the first birthday).
The food has to be cooked or cut in a prescribed manner to make it safe for infants. For example, grapes have to be quartered lengthwise, apple slices are steamed till they are soft enough to be mashed between fingers and dal-chawal or upma can be rolled into laddoos which the child can pick up easily.
Another important tenet of this ideology is not using force, distraction or cajoling to feed the child even if she does not eat a bite at a meal. This means parents can’t use the screen or the aeroplane-spoon trick to ‘land’ a bite in the child’s mouth.
Some parents proudly declare that they don’t distract their child with cartoons for feeding, but don’t realize that taking the child to a balcony to show birds or dangling a toy to feed is also a distraction. “The purpose of BLW is to help kids understand their own hunger and eat as much or as little as they wish, so distracting is a big no-no.”
Meal times were super messy and felt overwhelmed on some days.
NO COUNTING CHAPATIS:-
Moms practicing BLW say the biggest hurdle is not to get the kids to eat, but rather to get families to understand why they are not feeding spoonfuls of khichdi and daliya to their tots. “It is their hunger and it can be more on some days and less on other days just like for us adults.” Moms say seeing the child go hungry on some days is another challenge they face. “It’s not easy as a new mother to see your baby not eating sometimes. But determined to respect kid’s wishes and this was the best parenting decision.”
THE CONCERNS:-
Proponents of BLW point out that giving children food on a plate and letting them self-feed is actually an age-old practice, but it was abandoned over the decades as families began to devote time to feeding their children with hand or spoon. Families that follow BLW say one of the biggest advantages of raising independent eaters is that the entire family can eat together at the dinner table without any fuss.
Despite the benefits, some parents and paediatricians are wary of BLW because they fear the baby may choke while eating. Proponents point out that if the parent strictly follows the BLW guidelines — baby sitting upright in a high chair, well cooked and appropriately cut food of the right size — the risk is extremely low. Moreover, they explain that babies have some protective reflexes against choking such as gagging which prevent food from entering the airway. Parents often mistake gagging — when the baby coughs or sputters while eating to push a food out — with choking and panic. Research found that incidences of gagging and choking were equal regardless of whether infants were fed purees or ate on their own.
Another concern is that self-feeding babies may not eat enough or get the right nutrients they need. In fact, BLW advocates believe their method can prevent eating disorders later life. Babies weaned on pureed food tend to end up fatter than infants feed themselves finger foods. “When adults have fever and don’t feel like eating, it is okay. But if the child is unwell and rejects food, we try to force feed them”, who believes in keeping emotions away from food.
MY BABY, MY WAY:-
Not every one finds BLW practical. Proponents of BLW, feel the mess is worth it. “The sparkle in their eyes and their toothless grins as they explored and tasted the food is a beautiful memory for me.” Parents who take up BLW because they didn’t want to end up like friends and bhabhis who were always chasing their kids with food at family functions.
