Most parents will remember the hours spent spooning pureed food into their child’s mouth.
But allowing infants to hand-feed themselves may be better for their growth, according to a study.
New findings suggest that baby-led weaning – a popular way of introducing solid foods to infants – provides ample calories for growth and development.
The method emphasises allowing infants to hand-feed themselves whole, non-pureed foods when introducing solids versus the more traditional approach of spoon-feeding infants pureed solids.
Advocates say that it encourages healthy eating habits because babies self-feed and can explore a variety of foods from the family’s meals.
Instead of spoon feeding, a new study has found that allowing infants to hand-feed themselves may be better for their growth (Stock image)
Researchers from the University of Colorado studied baby-led weaning in 70 healthy, five-month-old infants.
During the study, caregivers recorded three days of the baby’s intake from all foods.
The team classified a child as following baby-led weaning if less than 10 per cent of their calories came from pureed baby foods.
Analysis revealed there was no significant difference in energy intake between the two weaning groups.
Baby-led weaning was also linked with a greater increase in weight-for-age and weight-for-length scores than conventionally weaned infants, meaning they had higher growth trajectories.
The team said soft fruits, steamed vegetables, cheese and small pieces of meat are all good foods to try for baby-led weaning because they are easy for babies to grasp and chew.
Foods should be offered as sticks about the size of the baby’s fist to prevent choking, they said, adding that it is important to provide a varied and diverse diet when introducing solid foods to infants.
Study author Kinzie Matzeller, a registered dietician, said: ‘One major concern with baby-led weaning was that it wasn’t known whether it provided enough nutrients to support infant growth.
Instead of pureed food soft fruits, steamed vegetables, cheese and small pieces of meat are all good foods to try for baby-led weaning (Stock image)
‘It is reassuring to know that baby-led weaning provides adequate calories for growth.
‘Baby-led weaning can be a great way to incorporate more options and different types of foods your little one may not get otherwise.
‘It often takes up to 15 exposures to a food before a baby accepts it, so persistence is key.’ They also discovered that mothers with more education and higher incomes were more likely to use baby-led weaning.
This could be because families with more money might find it easier to afford the time and resources needed for the food preparation required for baby-led weaning, the researchers said.
Their future research will examine potential nutritional differences between the weaning methods.
The findings were presented at the American Society for Nutrition conference in Chicago.
