Your little explorer is growing up, and you may notice that their usual milk diet is no longer enough. Then it’s time to introduce solid foods! Alongside the classic approach with detailed plans and puréed parsnips, there’s an alternative: more and more parents are starting with baby-led weaning, introducing solid foods directly at the family table. We’ll tell you what this trend is all about and how baby-led weaning works.

What is baby-led weaning?

Translated, Baby-led Weaning roughly means “baby-led weaning,” and it is also known as “complementary feeding as needed.” It refers to a feeding method in which babies decide for themselves what to eat. Unlike traditional complementary feeding, baby-led weaning completely skips spoon-feeding during the transition from breast milk or formula to solid foods. Instead, your baby eats independently from the very beginning at the family table.

The idea of giving children a piece of bread or fruit to suck or nibble on isn’t new and is probably familiar to most parents. As a nutrition concept, baby-led weaning has been known since 2008, when the British pediatric nurse Gill Rapley published a book with this title and gave the alternative approach to complementary feeding its name.

When can you start with baby-led weaning?

Once your baby shows signs of readiness for complementary feeding—including sitting upright (perhaps with a little help) and intentionally grasping objects to bring them to their mouth—they are ready to start solid foods. Readiness for complementary feeding varies from baby to baby, but for most, it’s around the sixth month. To learn which other signals indicate that your baby is prepared for solid foods, read our article “.”

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How do you introduce complementary foods as needed?

The basis of baby-led weaning is to completely avoid spoon-feeding and instead offer your baby small, easy-to-grasp portions of family meals. It’s important that you don’t put the food directly into their mouth; instead, let them take it independently. This allows your child to make their own decisions from the start and set their own eating pace.

During meals, your child should always sit; they should never eat lying down. The reason? Sitting allows your little explorer to spit out food they can’t yet manage, and it helps prevent food from accidentally entering their throat. If your baby can’t sit independently at first, you can hold them on your lap; later, a high chair is a good option. Since eating and exploring new foods are always associated with some mess, many parents also find a washable protective mat under the high chair practical. Child-friendly dishes and, later, cutlery are also useful tools for baby-led weaning.

Start by offering your child meals several times a day, depending on their mood. Similar to traditional complementary feeding, it can be helpful to introduce foods gradually to identify potential allergies. Even when your child is already eating solid foods, breastfeeding or infant formula remains your baby’s primary source of nutrition for now and, as with traditional complementary feeding, is gradually replaced by other foods. Continue to breastfeed or feed your child as needed until they are full and receive all necessary nutrients. Meals at the family table don’t necessarily have to coincide with breastfeeding times; instead, make sure your child is offered solid foods when they are curious and alert. As your child eats more and more at the family table, you can gradually reduce your baby’s milk intake. When you fully wean is entirely individual and a decision for you and your child to make together.

Which foods are suitable for baby-led weaning?

With a healthy, wholesome diet, your baby can eat almost everything the rest of the family eats from the beginning, with a few exceptions. It’s important to serve foods in small, easy-to-grasp portions, such as sticks or long strips. This way, your child can easily pick up the food, explore it, and suck on it. At first, some foods are better suited than others due to their consistency and shape. These include peeled, pitted, and, if needed, steamed pieces of fruit and vegetables such as:

• Pumpkin (cooked)

• Carrot (cooked)

• Cooked zucchini

• Sweet potato (cooked)

• Broccoli (cooked)

• Apple (possibly cooked)

• Pear (possibly cooked)

• Avocado

• Melon

• Banana

• Halved grapes

Other foods that even small children can easily grasp and chew are:

• Bread

• Pancakes

• Roasted egg

• Meat

• Different types of fish, such as salmon or cod

• Cheese (please note that cow's milk products are often only recommended from the 7th month)

• Travel

• Noodles

Some foods are unsuitable for your baby’s digestive system or are easy to choke on and are therefore not suitable for baby-led weaning. These include:

• Salt

• Sugar in large quantities

• Spicy spices

• Raw meat

• Raw fish

• Honey

• Maple syrup

• Leaf lettuce

• Legumes

• Mushrooms

• Raw milk products

• Raw egg

• Cabbage and other gas-forming foods

• Nuts

• Small tomatoes

• Olives

• Cherries, berries, etc.

With baby-led weaning, your child will get to know many different foods from the very beginning. However, this doesn’t mean they’ll react to all of them with enthusiasm—just like adults, eating is a matter of taste. Try offering rejected foods again at a later time.

What are the benefits of baby-led weaning?

Many parents see it as an advantage that, with baby-led weaning, no extra meals need to be prepared. Because your baby eats directly at the family table, you can avoid the effort of feeding, cooking, and planning a gradual introduction of complementary foods. Although there are no official studies confirming this yet, early exposure to a wide variety of foods is often cited as a benefit of baby-led weaning. According to supporters, children experience food as something enjoyable by exploring the smell, shape, color, texture, and temperature of different foods. By eating independently at their own pace, children can also sense the connection between food intake and satiety from the very beginning. Another aspect that is often highlighted positively is the development of . In addition, independent eating supports motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination and the pincer grip.

What are the criticisms of baby-led weaning?

Alongside the advantages, there are also criticisms that are repeatedly raised in connection with baby-led weaning. One example is the concern that a child might choke while eating. As a counterargument, it is often noted that the gag reflex in babies and children is located further forward on the tongue, so they tend to gag quite quickly if they can’t process the food. Proponents also argue that, in babies, the development of the ability to grasp and bring food to the mouth goes hand in hand with the ability to handle and digest that food in the mouth. Nevertheless, the risk of choking always exists, and you should never leave your child unattended while eating so you can react quickly in an emergency.

Some parents also worry that their child might not get enough to eat when eating independently. It’s completely normal for your child to take only small amounts at first during baby-led weaning—after all, they’re just learning to eat and need to get used to the texture and taste of new foods. But that’s exactly what the first meals are for: getting to know them. To make sure your child is full, they will continue to receive their usual milk nutrition.

There are many arguments both for and against baby-led weaning, and since there are no official studies on this topic so far, opinions among parents and scientists remain divided. The German Professional Association of Pediatricians, for example, advises against baby-led weaning. Their reasoning is that children who practice baby-led weaning do not consume the same necessary amount of nutrients through self-feeding as they do with traditional complementary feeding. Since iron requirements in infants and toddlers are particularly high, a nutrient deficiency could be a consequence.

Baby-led weaning is unsuitable if your baby needs to be weaned quickly or must be, if circumstances require close monitoring of their calorie intake, or if they show no interest in eating on their own or refuse solid foods and may not yet be ready for complementary feeding. If you’re still unsure whether baby-led weaning is right for you and your child, and which nutrients you should pay special attention to now, it’s best to seek advice from your pediatrician.

Even if baby-led weaning and traditional complementary feeding initially seem like opposites, don’t let the so-called “rules” unsettle you, and don’t put pressure on yourself to choose between the two options. There is probably no method that is equally suitable for every family. Instead, it’s up to you and your baby to find out what works best for you. This can vary depending on the time, situation, and your child’s needs, and it can just as well be a mix of puréed food and solid foods. By the way, the World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends a mixture of puréed or mashed foods and solid foods at the beginning. Whatever you decide, we wish you and your little explorer a good appetite!