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Baby led weaning has recently become a popular method of introducing solid foods to baby. Unlike the traditional method of feeding baby pureed food with a spoon, baby led weaning gives baby freedom to hand-feed themselves small bits of finger foods. Of course, there are pros and cons to baby led weaning. We break each one down below to give you a full picture of what this infant feeding method is all about.

The Pros: 

Baby In High Chair

Encourages adventurous eating

Babies are able to try a wide variety of complementary foods that offer different tastes and textures than what common pureed baby foods offer. Studies show that babies who are introduced to a variety of foods early on are more likely to have a healthier and nutrient-dense diet later on. This also helps prevent a child from being a “picky eater” and makes mealtimes that much easier.

Everyone can eat together

Most parents tend to spoon-feed their baby a meal first before eating a meal themselves. With baby led weaning, parents don’t have to feed baby separately because baby eats what the family eats. This makes meal prep easier and everyone can dine together for family meals.

Baby led weaning also makes eating out at restaurants or away from home easier. Rather than packing up baby food jars and spoons, the food served to everyone can be cut up for baby to eat.  

Builds motor skills and hand-eye coordination

Baby led weaning means babies are looking at their food, reaching for it, and bringing it to their mouth. This process helps build motor skills and hand-eye coordination. In addition, babies get a lot of practice picking up a variety of textured foods with their fingers. Some slimy, some crunchy, some soft, and so forth.

Babies are in control of what and how much they eat

When babies are fed pureed foods with a spoon, they are less likely to refuse bites as each spoonful is brought to their mouth for them. They also don’t have a choice in what they eat. With baby led weaning, babies can choose from the food set in front of them and how much they eat. Putting food options in front of baby can actually improve their eating habits because mealtime becomes “more fun”. While a baby refuses pureed carrots, they may enjoy soft chunks of carrots.

It’s less expensive

Instead of purchasing separate meals for baby (like jarred baby food), parents are able to feed their baby what they’re already making for the rest of the family. Jarred baby food costs about $0.99, on average, per 4 ounce jar. If baby is eating 3 jars a day, that’s about $21 per week that is saved by opting for baby led weaning instead of spoon-feeding. 

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The Cons: 

Messy Baby

It is much messier 

Unlike spoon-feeding baby food, baby led weaning lets babies pick up food with their hands from their high chair tray or baby plate. Between learning to pick up foods with their hands and learning to get foods in their mouth, a mess is sure to unfold. There’s also the chance of baby flinging food, dropping food, and spreading food all over themselves. Silicone bibs and bib coveralls can help contain some of the mess.

Concerns around choking

Since most foods are not bought pureed (like applesauce), babies have a chance of gagging or choking on bits of whole foods. Of course, this risk can concern parents and many parents easily opt for spoon-feeding baby instead of using the baby led weaning method. Another thing to note is that a gagging or choking incident could potentially scare baby from feeding themselves food.

Harder to pinpoint an allergic reaction

Many baby foods that are spoon-fed are given to baby one food at a time, making it easy to call out an allergic reaction if symptoms appear soon after mealtime. With baby led weaning, babies are typically eating a few different foods as part of one meal, so knowing exactly what food caused an allergic reaction is harder to know. 

Requires more mental preparation

When your baby is new to baby led weaning, deciding which foods to feed them first may require more mental preparation than picking out jarred baby food at the store. Most jarred baby food includes a recommended feeding age, allowing parents to quickly scan and choose what food to buy. With baby led weaning, it’s up to you to decide which foods are best for your child’s age and abilities. 

Concern over baby not eating enough

Since baby can choose how much food they eat, some parents are concerned that their little one won’t eat quite enough. While this could happen, the old saying, “food before one is just for fun,” is a good reminder that milk should be the main source of nutrition for babies during their first year. This allows eating finger foods to be more exploratory than demanding.

The World Health Organization recommends that babies be fed complementary foods along with milk beginning at six months of age. Whether you choose to spoon-feed pureed foods to your little one, use the baby led weaning method, or do a little of both, your baby is sure to get the nutrition they need (regardless of how they eat food), from their main substance source: milk. Considering the pros and cons of baby led weaning will help you make the right decision for you and your little one.

Have you tried baby led weaning with your infant? How did it go? Share your experience below!