The Amazing Benefits of Baby-Led Weaning You’ll Want to Know

The benefits of baby-led weaning (BLW) are numerous. Maybe you’ve heard about the nutritional benefits or the increased variety of texture and tastes baby will be exposed to compared to other methods of starting solids. BLW has been shown in research studies to increase baby’s ability to self-regulate food, become a part of family mealtime earlier, promote preferences for healthier food, and lead to more adventurous and less picky eaters later in life. And those are only some of the benefits! There’s more!

BLW is enjoyable for baby and caregivers

• Allowing baby to explore food on her own allows parents to be able to eat and enjoy their own food too
• Giving baby the ability to be in charge of how much and whether she eats at all takes the pressure of making sure baby “gets enough” off parents (babies are very good at regulating their intake based on their instinctual hunger and fullness cues)
• Early stress-free mealtimes increase the likelihood that baby will have a positive relationship with food for life

It comes naturally!

• Just like with crawling or any other milestone, babies are allowed to lead the way; this should be the case with learning to eat solids too
• Babies learn about the world through their hands and mouth and can learn about food when using their hands to eat during BLW

Protective against choking

• Studies have shown that choking risk does not differ in a BLW baby compared to a baby fed purees
• Chewing is mastered earlier in BLW babies when the gag reflex is still strong, allowing baby to figure out chewing and swallowing before the protective gag reflex has faded

Learning experience

• Mealtime is not only about getting enough nutrition but about learning the tastes, smells, textures, weight, and sound of food
• Babies are always analyzing and learning and if all their senses are allowed to be used during mealtime they can better understand the world around them
• BLW babies practice gripping different textures and bringing food to their mouth, increasing dexterity and hand-eye coordination
• Chewing food develops facial muscles important for speech

Increases confidence

• Allowing baby to eat on her own instills confidence and independence, creating more adventurous eaters and toddlers

Baby is a part of family mealtime

• Babies love watching family members. Watching her family eat teaches her valuable skills such as how to use utensils, chew, and try new foods; it also teaches her table manners and social skills and further develops language

Understanding hunger and fullness cues

• BLW allows babies to choose how much and whether they eat food at a meal, allowing them to fully honor their hunger and fullness cues. Caregivers must stick to their roles of what food is offered, and when and where mealtimes occur!
• Babies are amazing at knowing how much food they need. Each meal and day may look different in terms of how much baby eats, and that’s okay! Focus on what baby eats during the span of a week instead of a mealtime or one day. Be sure to offer a large variety and baby will often do just fine meeting her nutrient needs.
• Early practice of understanding hunger and fullness cues sets baby up for a lifetime of better appetite control leading to lower chances of developing obesity and eating disorders

Exposure to tastes, textures, smells of real food

• Babies learn right away what real foods are! A piece of broccoli is broccoli rather than an unidentifiable green puree.
• Babies learn to trust food and develop unique preferences making them more adventurous eaters

Learning to chew earlier

• BLW babies learn to chew and handle whole foods earlier decreasing the risk of choking, improving speech development, and digestion

Convenient and cost-effective

• Feeding baby the same foods as the rest of the family saves time and money!

Decreased pickiness

• Offering a variety of real food during BLW when baby is curious and willing to try new foods decreases the pickiness during toddler hood and beyond

Eating out is easier

• No need to pack special baby purees since most restaurants will have something baby can eat

References

Rapley G, Murkett T. Baby-Led Weaning, Completely Updated and Expanded Tenth Anniversary Edition: The Essential Guide―How to Introduce Solid Foods and Help Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater. 10th ed. New York, NY: The Experiment, LLC; 2019.

Arantes A et al. The Baby-led Weaning Method (BLW) in the Context of Complementary Feeding: A Review. Revista Paulista de Pediatria 36, no. 3 (2018): 353–63.

Brown, A., Jones, S.W. & Rowan, H. Baby-Led Weaning: The Evidence to Date. Curr Nutr Rep 6, 148–156 (2017). https://doi-org.libproxy.uwyo.edu/10.1007/s13668-017-0201-2