Baby-led weaning

Baby-led weaning is an approach to feeding babies their first foods that has gained popularity in recent years.

In this approach:

• the baby feeds themselves (ie there is no spoon feeding by adults)
• there are some benefits, such as promoting the child’s control of their intake
• there are some challenges, such as a lack of evidence assessing nutritional adequacy of this approach.

In this video, Dr Alison Spence discusses a number of advantages and disadvantages of baby-led weaning and suggests some considerations for parents and health professionals using this method.

Your task

Watch the video and, in the comments, share your ideas and experiences about weaning babies.

• Have you had any experience with baby-led weaning either as a parent or health practitioner?
• Can you think of any other advantages or disadvantages of baby-led weaning not discussed in the video?