Gone are the days when mums were encouraged to purée everything that passed their baby’s lips. Now, some parents choose to forego the purées and weaning spoons altogether, and simply let their babies feed themselves with a variety of tastes and textures. “It’s not as messy as it sounds,” says UK-based paediatric dietician Melissa Little. “To begin with, start children off on easy-to-hold finger foods rather than baby mush, so there’s no spoon to throw and anything that does fall on the floor isn’t too sloppy,” she says.
WHAT IS IT?
Baby-led weaning means children are encouraged to self-feed on solid foods from six months (the age the
