Put the jars away
According to a BBC article, feeding your baby pureed foods might be unnatural. Gill Rapley, the director of Unicef’s Baby Friendly Initiative says that feeding your baby pureed foods can cause health problems later in life. Giving your child breast milk or formula for the first six months then weaning onto solids could prevent your child from becoming a picky eater.
Her approach, baby led weaning, is described more fully in an article about implementing a baby-led approach to incorporating solid foods. The basic idea is that babies who are ready to begin eating solids are capable of taking food into their own mouths and chewing it. Allowing your baby to feed himself soft foods at first puts him at a smaller risk of choking because he’s in control. Larger pieces, like whole fruits are easier for a baby to handle. Giving your baby whole, separate foods allows him to experience flavors, textures, colors and shapes and make decisions about what he eats. Those early decisions will make him open to new foods and flavors as his abilities to self feed develop.
If you’ve had trouble getting your baby to eat foods with chunkier textures, if you’re pregnant or if you’re the mother of a newborn take a few minutes to read about baby-led weaning. This article is a great place to start.
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