The author, Anna White, is a mother of four month old twins. She speculates that by the time Baby-Led Weaned babies are 10 they will be tweeting their mother set meal requests because they have been allowed to dictate what they eat from word go. I don't know about you but my 8 month old has never dictated what he's having for dinner- I don't know probably something to do with him not being able to speak. I choose what I will offer him- he chooses whether and how much of it he will eat. Most of the time he eats most of what I offer. Granted if he doesn't like it he won't eat it but my daughter was spoon fed and she didn't eat purees she didn't like either so I see no difference there.
According to White there is something "quite medieval" about Baby-Led Weaning- not to mention messy- you can just hear her gasping at the thought of it. She also criticizes Baby-Led Weaning suggesting that if your toddler doesn't like what you are eating you would have to make him a separate meal!?? What? Where has she got this from? Baby-Led Weaning avoids exactly this problem. When your little one is under one they are offered food and if they don't like it they don't eat it. That's fine, food before one is just for fun. By the time they are toddlers they will be used to eating proper food with their family and will more than likely have a varied and sophisticated palate, especially when compared with their spoon-fed peers. Also by the time a baby becomes a toddler you would know most foods they really did hate so you simply wouldn't serve them that. I personally don't make my children alternative meals- if they don't eat it they go with out. What really perplexes me is why she sees this as an issue peculiar to Baby-Led Weaning as opposed to traditional weaning.
White argues that "This early selection process gives children the freedom to turn their noses up at food" as though any poor babies who are spoon fed don't get the freedom to dislike food. I think it is a little unfair to traditional weaners to suggest that where Baby-Led weaners let the baby take the lead, they are busy force feeding babies slop even when the baby dislikes it. A baby who is spoon fed still has the freedom to dislike food and she still has the freedom to pick up a bowl of puree and throw it- now that is messy Anna!
Despite referring to Baby-Led Weaning as a "faddy feeding strategy", of the two women she quotes, one is doing BLW with great success and the other is doing purees but also offering finger foods at every mealtime too. No where does anyone, other than the author, criticize Baby-Led Weaning and no where does she cite any evidence to back up her negative claims. She also mentions the importance of social mealtimes- this is one of the main benefits of Baby-Led Weaning- that you can all sit together as a family eating the same food at the same time.
With her twins, Anna White will be taking the "you get what you're given approach"- hmm good luck with that one. I hope she enjoys simultaneously spoon feeding her twins and I hope that between them they don't come across any foods that they dislike when they are weaning because that kind of dictatorial attitude is not allowed in Ms White's household.
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