If you aren’t ready for finger foods but want to lean in toward independent eating, this approach to spoon feeding is a terrific place to start.
Meet baby Lora, 6 months, in Umag, Croatia.
Lora, 6 months old, eats puréed cauliflower from a pre-loaded spoon in mom's lap.
There are 3 notable things happening here:
Mom is holding Lora in her lap, facing the table. This is a terrific position for responsive spoon-feeding and for fostering independence. We also love this position because it puts the focus on the food while minimizing parent pressure (baby can’t see a parent’s facial reactions) and it physically puts the baby in the position to explore the food.
Mom is pre-loading the spoon but pausing to give Lora enough time to reach out and grab it. The spoon is close enough that Lora knows she’s going to get to eat either way, but not fast enough to cut off the opportunity for Lora to try to do it herself. Notice too, that Lora is allowed to hold her own bowl.
Lora is permitted to hold on to the spoon to explore and teethe on, which is fantastic for oral and fine motor development.
Lastly, Lora is getting to see—up close—how her mom scoops the food—but from an angle that Lora is going to learn best from.
One hundred years ago no one asked “how” you were going to start solids. What the best first foods were for babies, sure. But how? No.
And even though we advocate for the early introduction of finger food and the many benefits baby-led weaning provides, we don’t think a spoon-feeding vs. baby-led weaning dichotomy is good for society.
So if your baby is approaching 6 months and getting ready to start solids, know you don’t have to pick a method. You can, like this parent—who probably knows nothing about how perfect her position is for feeding therapy—just follow your intuition.
Sign up for weekly tips, recipes and more!
The content offered on SolidStarts.com is for informational purposes only. Solidstarts is not engaged in rendering professional advice, whether medical or otherwise, to individual users or their children or families. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or your medical or health professional, nutritionist, or expert in pediatric feeding and eating. By accessing the content on SolidStarts.com, you acknowledge and agree that you are accepting the responsibility for your child’s health and well-being. In return for providing you with an array of content “baby-led weaning” information, you waive any claims that you or your child may have as a result of utilizing the content on SolidStarts.com.