When it comes to weaning your baby and by this I mean introducing solid food these days, there are clearly two main schools of thoughts:
- The traditional approach where you spoon feed your child with pureed food
- Baby led weaning, also called BLW, where you let your child feed herself/himself from the right beginning
Reusable food pouches on Croque-Maman
The very single thought of leaving her child eating his spag bol with his bare hands could send a French mum into complete overdrive mode… let’s face it, baby led weaning does not really fit into “le cadre*”. Baby led weaning is fun, experimental however it can also be very messy, children could end up eating little but often and when you like to be in control well… it can drive you crazy ;-)
So when mums go for full baby led weaning in France they get quite a lot of reactions:
“Hmm… that’s not very French!” – Mummy in Provence
“Are you trying to kill her?” – Franglaise Mummy
Tableware set on Croque-Maman
However it isn’t because baby led weaning is not very popular as a main weaning practice that French mums do not let their children feed themselves sometimes. I clearly remember my little one eating “quignons de pain” (baguette crusty end) at 8 months and being encouraged by my French friends/family at the time. It is just that it needs to be not messy and not compromise meal time… well it does need to fit into “le cadre”*, doesn’t it?
*French parenting framework
If you liked this post you, you will most likely fancy
- reading more of Croque-Maman’s blog – French food education section: French weaning guidelines, tips and French parents secrets
- discover the products French mums use when raising their little happy eaters on Croque-Maman e-boutique ;-)
By the way, this gorgeous little boy is nothing less that the son of Anne from L’Ane Martin, a new e-boutique offering an elegant range of sleepwear and bedding for babies. You should check it out!
There’s such an enormous difference in the way different cultures approach the introduction of solids to babies that the message really needs to be to do what works best for you and your baby, and not to worry about what others are doing or, worse still, about their opinions and disparaging statements about what you are doing. Enough pressures on mums already, no?
I could not agree more Kavey, it is nice to know what others are doing but it is important to go for what you feel is right for you and your little one xxx
Funnily enough we were watching an old video of when my daughter was in her high chair as a baby where instead of eating her slice of cucumber she was plastering it all over her had with much glee. I just let me kids take over when they were ready, there was never any thought given to self weaning, one day they just grabbed the spoon off me and that was how things continued, along with all the mess:-)
These videos are such treasures, I always look back at ours with so much emotion xxx
I did a mixture of the two, making purees, but giving him raw veg to snack on too. I have to say he never got that messy. Thank goodness.
Ahahah in my house even if I mostly did purees it was always a bit messy. I guess the twin thing did not help ;-)))