Mother & Baby TV Video: Baby Led Weaning & Letting Your Baby Feed Herself

Mums and experts discuss baby led weaning

By askamum

By the age of about six months our babies are physically capable of feeding themselves. Baby led weaning is a term which simply put means letting your baby feed themselves from the very start of weaning.



Your baby’s first meal is a real milestone and moving your baby onto solids means that you can begin to make choices about what to feed your baby. 

For more information on weaning babies including getting your baby to eat from a spoon, what’s safe to feed your baby, how to make your own baby food recipes and how to deal with baby feeding problems, go to askamum.co.uk's Weaning & Feeding section.

Before you start whining over weaning, remember, eating has to be learnt. Yes, hard to believe now the grown up you can devour a donut without it touching the sides of your mouth we know, but feasting on anything thicker than milk doesn’t come naturally when you’re only a few months old. While sucking on a breast is instinctive, solids are, quite literally, harder to swallow. But don’t panic.

Our quick and easy guide on when to start weaning, as well as what and how to feed your baby, will stop you making a meal out of meal times.

When is the best time to start weaning?

So when’s the best time to start giving your baby something more solid than milk? According to the bods at the Department of Health and the World Health Organisation, the ideal is exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

Apart from a ferocious appetite, day or night, there are other ready-to-wean signs worth watching for – swiping at your snacks for starters, or watching your mouth when you eat.

Judy More, paediatric dietician and registered nutritionist says: ‘Baby’s tend to show interest in food or start exploring things with their mouths,’ says Judy. ‘Whatever the signs, your baby needs steady head control before you wean to avoid choking.’

Judy’s top weaning tips

1. Make meal times a family affair ‘Not only will baby look forward to the social side of eating, but she’ll learn how to eat by copying you,’ says Judy. ‘Even if you can’t all eat together, just nibbling on a snack while baby has her meal makes eating fun, not a chore.’

2. Put the fun into food A bowl of slop’s unlikely to get most of us begging for more, so make meals look good. ‘Giving her different coloured and shaped finger foods, like carrot sticks or triangles of toast, will spark her interest and make her want to explore them,’ says Judy.

3. Pick a proper spoon ‘I’ve watched mums trying to ram tablespoons into their babies’ tiny mouths,’ Judy reveals. ‘A small spoon with a plastic coating is easier for her to take. Give her one to play with a few days before you start weaning so it doesn’t feel strange in her mouth.’

4. Be a willing audience ‘As there’s always a chance of choking never leave baby alone at mealtime,’ says Judy.

5. Know when to quit ‘Don’t force-feed your baby,’ says Judy. ‘You’ll know she’s lost interest if she keeps her mouth shut, turns her head away, puts her hand in front of her mouth, pushes her spoon or bowl away, holds food in her mouth and refuses to swallow it, spits out food repeatedly, cries, shouts or screams, cries to climb out of her high chair, or gags or retches.