According To Experts, Many Parents Take Too Long To Stop Feeding Their Babies Crushed Food

According to experts, many parents take too long to stop giving baby food to their children. You know why?

When a baby starts biting his hand he is not suffering because his baby teeth are about to come out, but because he is training to be able to eat. He repeats the hand-to-mouth gesture from time to time, does it with everything that comes his way, and when he puts it in his mouth, he starts chewing it.

However, if we only offer them crushed food and baby food, they will only get used to this texture of food, and there will come a time when they no longer need to pick up and put something in their mouths, nor the curiosity to try new things.

Furthermore, feeding your baby is the foundation of your health.

According to experts, many parents take too long to provide babies with uncrushed food.

All studies indicate that breastfeeding during the first months of life is the ideal food, but after six months, it should be accompanied by complementary food that is adequate to the child’s needs, neurological maturity and the baby’s interest by food.

If a child ingests solid foods, he is able to develop the ability to handle them in his mouth without choking on them, and the sooner he starts consuming this type of food, the lower the risk of choking.

At this time, we should introduce the method known as “baby led weaning”,  which helps children to be an active part of their diet, and helps to prevent childhood obesity.

What is baby led weaning ?

It is a method of introducing a complementary diet based on replacing the baby food served by the parents in small spoons, with whole foods that the child is able to choose and take to the mouth.

The key to this technique is that the breastfed child will consume the same food as the rest of the family, for example, pieces of green beans, potatoes, plantains, pears, etc… and the baby takes them in his hand to experiment with the different textures and, by chewing them, makes your mouth muscles stronger. At first he will eat a little, but little by little he will get used to it and will eat a larger amount.

After tasting them and confirming that you don’t want more, you can offer them the breast, or formula milk if necessary, until they feel full.

Through this method, children acquire a more active role, favoring their ability to regulate the amounts of food they consume, and develop feelings of satiety, helping to prevent the development of childhood obesity.

Basic Method Recommendations

To ensure that the child has met all their energy needs, that there is no nutritional imbalance, and that the breastfed child does not choke, it is very important that the mother or father are aware of the baby’s diet.

• Offer food that guarantees enough energy.
• Continue breastfeeding.
• Introduce foods that provide iron daily.
• Constantly keep an eye on the baby and adapt the food to the baby.

It’s important to remember that children aged 1 to 3 years have a much faster growth rate than adults, so we might be surprised if at age 2 they seem to eat like we do.

The benefits of baby led weaning

• Promotion of breastfeeding.
• Acquisition of healthy habits.
• Establish proper eating habits related to satiety signs.
• Stimulate the child’s psychomotor development.
• Better acceptance of common family foods, which have a variety of textures and flavors.
• Achieve greater consumption of healthier foods.
• It’s more respectful of the baby.

• Conceives complementary feeding as a learning process.
• The baby eats what he wants no matter how much.