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Baby led weaning early foods


Ultimate Guide to Baby Led Weaning (and Best First Foods)

Learn the basics of how to do the feeding approach known as “baby led weaning” and the best first foods for baby to make starting solids easy and fun. Plus: Learn why it’s perfectly okay to use a combined approach of blw and purees.

Baby Led Weaning

The feeding approach known as “baby led weaning” or “BLW” for short, is a style of feeding infants that allows them to feed themselves right from the start. The food is offered in thick finger-size pieces and is soft and easily squishable between your fingers. This way, the food is both easy to hold but has a low risk of choking.

TIP: This method became popular about a decade ago after the publication of the Baby Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Food by UK author Gill Rapley.

BLW Baby

One of the many reasons that people are starting to opt for this style of feeding more and more is simply that it’s easy. In many cases, you can modify foods you’re already making to share with your baby and there’s not always a lot of separate cooking involved. It also allows a baby to have control over what goes into their mouths, which sets a good precedent for letting them eat intuitively from the start.

What age should I start baby led weaning?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a baby is ready to start solids with baby led weaning when:

  • They’ve doubled their birth weight (at least).
  • They can hold their head up well and are starting to sit up unsupported.
  • They show signs of being interested in food (watching you eat, reaching for food when you’re eating, etc).
  • When you feed them, they are able to move the food around in their mouths—rather than spit it right out.

TIP: Look for a highchair that allows a baby to sit up relatively straight so they can have good posture and better control over their arms and hands.

How to Start Baby Led Weaning

The first time you offer solids is such a fun milestone, so you’ll be ready once you follow these simple steps.

  • Make sure baby has hit the milestones listed above to let you know that he’s ready to start.
  • Get the highchair ready and adjust the straps and foot rest as needed.
  • Plan to introduce water when you start solids. I recommend a trainer cup.
  • Choose one food to start with and plan to offer only one food at a time.
  • Stop when baby starts to fuss, turns his head away, or shows any other signs of not wanting to continue. It’s usually fairly obvious when they are done!

TIP: If you start offering solids and baby just doesn’t seem interested at all, it’s okay. Take a break for a few days or a few weeks and start again. Each kiddo has their own unique timeline.

Best Tips for Starting BLW

Here are a few more tips to consider and review before you get started.

  • Understand the gag reflex. Gagging is different than choking though and is most often a sign that baby is learning to move food around in their mouths—and to get it out of their mouths, which is a skill you want them to have!
  • Brush up on the basics of how to know when baby is ready to start solids. (Go back to the top of this post for the signs to look for.)
  • Set them up for success with a highchair that allows them to sit up straight and has foot support.
  • Sit with them as you offer food.
  • Check your own expectations of what will happen and simply allow your baby to take the lead.
  • Start with one new food a day or every few days.
  • Vary the textures of foods you offer to start exposing baby to many right from the start.
  • Offer water in a sippy cup or small open cup.

TIP: Remember that breastmilk or formula will continue to satisfy baby’s hunger for the first few months of eating solids. Do not expect solids to replace milk feedings at this age.

First Foods for Baby

Starting solids with baby led weaning or purees are both perfectly acceptable ways to introduce a baby to solid foods—but the topic can get so heated! There’s a lot of pressure to do it the “right” way and I’m here to say that there isn’t one. You 100% can do one or the other, or combine the two to make it work for your family. It’s all good!

Remember, the goal with first foods for baby is that they’re introduced to flavors, nutrients, and foods they can easily eat or suck on. It should be an enjoyable milestone for all involved. 

TIP: It’s a good idea to get into the habit of offering an iron-rich food since iron stores in babies start to run out around 6 months and they’ll need to start ingesting it in their food.

Best First Foods for Baby Led Weaning

Here are some of our favorite first foods to offer baby led weaning style. You want foods to be finger sized so they are large enough that baby can’t force the whole piece into their mouth, and a shape that’s easy for a 6 month old to hold with their chubby little hands. These are some of our favorites.

  • Roasted sweet potato wedges
  • Roasted apple wedges, skin on to help them hold together
  • Roasted or steamed broccoli florets (big enough for baby to hold)
  • Melon slices
  • Thick mango slice
  • Banana with some of the peel still on
  • Toast sticks with mashed avocado
  • Avocado spears (make sure the avocado is ripe and soft)
  • Lamb or beef, on the bone or a large piece for baby to suck on
  • Dark meat chicken, on the bone or a large piece for baby to suck on.

TIP: The foods should generally be soft enough to squish between your fingers with the exception of the large pieces of meat. If baby gnaws a piece down into a smaller piece, replace it with a larger one to avoid her putting a chunk of food into her mouth.

Baby Led Weaning Banana

To serve a banana to a baby, wash it well, then slice it in half. Cut off an inch or two of the peel, but leave the rest of the peel on so it’s not slippery for baby to hold. They’ll suck on the top part like a little popsicle! You can also help them hold the banana if needed.

Foods to Avoid Serving While Doing BLW

You want any foods you offer to a baby while doing baby led weaning to be soft enough to squish between your fingers and safe for them to eat and digest. Plan to avoid:

  • Anything hard, sticky, or crunchy (like raw apple or carrot, whole nuts, crackers, or a big spoonful or nut butter)
  • Added salt
  • Cow’s milk (which is difficult for kids under 1 to digest; plain yogurt is fine though)
  • Added sugar (they simply don’t need it)
  • Honey (to avoid a risk of botulism)
  • Super slippery foods that would be hard for baby to hold (which can be frustrating)

TIP: Always sit with your baby and watch them try to eat. They are your best guide for making adjustments to the foods you serve.

Baby Led Weaning and Choking

There are many parents who dislike this method of feeding because it often sounds like a baby is choking. And while there are surely some incidences of choking, what’s more likely is that a baby will occasionally gag on a piece of food that gets into their mouth that they weren’t expecting.

But remember: Gagging is a sign that baby is doing what she needs to in order to move the food around in their mouth as they learn to eat. It usually sounds more dangerous than it actually is.

TIP: If the sound of gagging really freaks you out, you’re not alone. Consider offering more preloaded spoons with purees to start your journey more slowly.

How to Cut Foods for BLW

You generally want the food to be big enough that it would be difficult for baby to put the entire thing into their mouths. Here are some specifics:

  • Foods that are roughly the size of a finger, so about a 4-inch stick.
  • Foods that are easy for the baby to pick up—they can’t pick up small pieces until closer to 9 months when they develop the ability to use their fingers in what’s known as a “pincer grasp”.
  • Foods that aren’t too slippery—so you can wash and leave some of the peel on fresh foods like bananas, avocado, kiwi, and mango.

TIP: You can also go even bigger if you’re worried about size. Think half of a slice of bread or a big chunk of watermelon.

Will my baby actually eat much food with BLW?

Probably not at first. There will likely be more tasting of the food than eating of it and that is totally fine. They will still rely on breast milk or formula at this age for their main nutrition, so don’t expect them to suddenly start eating full meals. (They’ll get there in a few months, but it takes time!)

Do babies need teeth for baby led weaning?

No! Gums are super strong and front teeth aren’t used for chewing—that happens when the back molars come in. Teeth really have nothing to do with whether or not a baby can eat solids.

TIP: Learn more about what to expect from teething here.

Can you mix baby led weaning and purees?

Absolutely! I think it’s a great idea to mix the two methods simply because it gives you many more options for foods and allows the baby to experience more textures. I recommend allowing babies to feed themselves preloaded spoons—so you put the puree on a spoon, then hand it to them to actually put the spoon into their mouth—so they still have control over what goes into their mouths.

TIP: Feeding some purees is also helpful if you’ll be sending food with a baby to daycare since the care provider may not have experience with blw.

Best First Foods for Baby: Purees

Here are some of our favorite purees to start offering baby when they’re ready to start solids. Remember: There’s no evidence that says that you need to start with vegetables versus fruits, so go with something that tastes good to you. Start with single foods pureed smooth and offer just a little at a time on a spoon.

  • Mashed roasted sweet potato puree
  • Mashed avocado puree
  • Mashed banana puree
  • Butternut squash puree
  • Applesauce, unsweetened
  • Mashed pea puree
  • Oatmeal baby cereal (with added iron)

TIP: One of my favorite baby food companies is Amara Organic Baby Food, a company using a nutrient protection technology that makes organic purees just as good as homemade. I love how easy they are to use when I need a shortcut and that they have fun baby-led weaning recipes on the side of every box! (paid affiliate link)

How do I know when baby has had enough?

If your baby is eating and then starts to turn her head away or just refuses to open her mouth, she’s done! Babies may also start to fuss if they’ve had enough. Learning this new skill takes time and babies can become tired fairly quickly into the process, so don’t expect them to always eat very much or to last very long at the table. This stage is about exploration!

Baby with preloaded spoon of yogurt

How to Let Baby Self Feed Purees

I love offering purees on a preloaded spoon. To do this, the parent, puts some of the food on the spoon and hands it to baby. Then baby can bring the food to their mouth all by themselves. This gives you some of the same advantages of baby led weaning, but can be more comfortable for many parents.

Remember, you can mix what you offer, going back and forth between purees and blw finger foods, so you can offer the same food two different ways to let baby explore. The main goal is to avoid forcing baby to take more bites than they want to, which can sometimes happen with purees.

Baby eating peanut butter toast stick

When to Introduce Potentially Allergenic Foods

In recent years, guidelines have been updated on when to introduce potential allergens including peanuts, eggs, and shellfish, so unless you have a family history of a food allergy, you can go ahead and introduce them soon after baby starts eating solids. In fact, research is showing that introducing these foods early can actually protect baby from developing an allergy. Talk to your pediatrician if you have concerns.

TIP: Thin unsweetened peanut butter with water to form a very thin Peanut Butter Puree until it’s about the consistency of regular yogurt and offer a very small amount on a spoon or spread on a toast stick.

What does a baby led weaning meal look like for months 7 and 8?

Until a baby is closer to 9 months and is able to pick up smaller pieces of foods, but after they have gotten the hang of one food at a time, I try to offer 1-2 foods they can feed themselves and one puree. This offers them a chance to ingest more via the puree but still feed themselves a range of textures. You can do more or less food following the lead of the child.

TIP: My Baby Food Chart has loads of with ideas for blw foods and purees by month.

Recipes for Every Stage of Starting Solids

If you’re ready to start solids with baby, or you’re just curious what it looks like to do a mix of baby led weaning and purees, check out my Yummy Baby Food cookbook. It goes stage by stage with specific foods to start in each, with simple recipes and easy feeding tips.

Listen to a recent podcast episode to hear about some of the basics of BLW with our guest Megan McNamee, MPH, RDN, CLT, and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist specializing in pediatric nutrition who runs Feeding Littles. 

I’d love to hear any questions you have with BLW or if your baby had a first food that I didn’t list here. Please comment below to share your experience!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Author Amy Palanjian

Cuisine American

Course Dinner

Calories 28kcal

Servings 1

Banana
  • ▢ 1 small ripe banana with peel on
Roasted Sweet Potato
  • ▢ 1 small sweet potato + 1 teaspoon olive oil
Roasted Apple
  • ▢ 1 small apple + 1 teaspoon butter or neutral oil
Roasted Broccoli
  • ▢ 1 cup broccoli florets + 1 teaspoon olive oil
Sauteed Green Beans
  • ▢ 4 green beans 1 teaspoon olive oil
Melon
  • ▢ 1 small piece watermelon or cantaloupe
Avocado Toast
  • ▢ 1 slice whole grain bread
  • ▢ 1 tbsp ripe avocado
Avocado Spear
  • ▢ ⅛ ripe avocado
Lamb or Beef
  • ▢ 1 lamb chop, roast, or steak
Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs
  • ▢ 1 chicken thigh
  • ▢ 1 tsp olive oil
  • ▢ 1 garlic clove, optional
Banana with some of the peel still on

  • Cut a banana in half. Use a knife to gently cut around the peel about 2 inches down, leaving some of the peel on so that the banana is easy for baby to hold and less slippery.

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Wash and dry the sweet potato. (You don't need to peel it.) Cut in half, then cut lengthwise into strips. Cut each strip in half again until each is about 1/2-inch thick. Slice in half horizontally if the sweet potato is very long. (Each strip should be about the size of your finger.) Place into a bowl and toss with the olive oil. Spread onto prepared baking sheet and roast for 22-25 minutes or until soft. Let cool slightly and serve.

Roasted Apple Wedges
Roasted Broccoli Florets

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the broccoli onto a rimmed baking sheet and toss with the olive oil, coating and mixing well until all of the florets are a little shiny and coated with oil.  Roast for 15-18 minutes or until tender. Let cool slightly and serve.

Sauteed Green Beans

  • Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove cover and taste one to see if it’s soft enough. Cook for an additional minute or two as needed.

Melon slices
Avocado Toast
Avocado Spears

  • (Make sure the avocado is ripe and soft): Cut a thick strip of avocado and offer to baby. You can leave the peel on if that makes it easier for baby to hold (just wash it first).

Lamb or Beef

  • Prepare a roast, steak, or chop without salt and with butter or olive oil until cooked medium well. Offer a thick slice at least the size of your finger or a drumstick.

Pan-Seared Chicken Thighs

  • Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken thigh and top with a few slices of fresh garlic, if desired.  Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove cover. Flip over and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes uncovered or until a meat thermometer registers 165 degrees F.

  • Add spices like garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin, oregano, or any other non-spicy flavor you like to make these more interesting.
  • Offer just one piece at a time when starting out.
  • If baby gnaws a piece down into a smaller piece, replace it with a larger one to avoid her putting a chunk of food into her mouth.
  • Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat briefly if needed.
  • Remember that it's normal for babies to take time to actually ingest the food. Part of the process is exploring all of the senses related to the experience of eating.

Calories: 28kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 6mg, Potassium: 75mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 23IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Rate in the comments and tag @yummytoddlerfood on IG!

Printable Baby Food Chart: BLW, Purees, Finger Foods

Make feeding your baby easier with this free, downloadable baby food chart. It has straight forward ideas for what to feed baby from when they start solids on up to one year—including purees, baby-led weaning style foods, finger foods, and more.

Baby Food Chart

Starting solids with a baby can be so fun and often a little challenging—but this baby food chart will help. I’ve compiled my best ideas for which foods to serve based on age and development of the baby to make it easy for you to make decisions in the kitchen.

This infant feeding chart is meant to help remind you of options you have at each age. It is not meant to add any pressure or function as a checklist of foods you have to serve (unless you want to do that!).

TIP: Download your free printable baby food chart here.

What baby foods should you start with?

Whether you start with purees or baby led weaning, starting with flavorful and nutrient-dense foods is a simple way to think about introducing foods to a baby. I love simple foods like roasted sweet potato, avocado, banana, and apple puree as first foods for a baby.

Remember that a first food is just that—a first food. It is not going to be the sole thing that determines how your child likes all foods. It can be sweet or savory, or from a variety of food groups. I would do your best to make sure that the food is easy to eat, has some flavor, and that the environment in which you offer it is free from pressure and, maybe even joyful!

What age should baby start eating foods?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting to start solids until a baby is 6 months, and to go with wide variety of foods, introduced one at a time. But many pediatricians still say it’s okay to start rice cereal at 4 months.

If your pediatrician recommends this at the 4 month check up, ask their thoughts on the recommendation from the AAP.

TIP: Learn more about starting solids here.

How much food should I feed my baby?

The best way to know the right amount of food to give to a baby is to follow their lead. It should be very clear when a baby is done eating—they will close their mouth, turn their head, and generally make it very hard to feed them. (They may also play with their food, which is a fine way for them to interact with the foods at this early stage.)

It’s okay if baby eats very little to start. It’s also okay if they surprise you by being very interested in food!

TIP: Download your free printable baby food chart here.

6 Month Baby Food Chart for Purees

If you’re ready to start solids with a baby, here are some foods you may want to start with. This list is perhaps more broad than you expect, but more recent research shows that it’s a good idea to introduce potential allergenic foods earlier and that lots of flavor is a great way to set baby up for eating a range of foods as they grow.

Don’t feel like you need to serve all of these foods (you 100% don’t!), but it should give you a range of ideas to consider based on season, availability, and your own preference.

  • Almond butter puree
  • Apple Puree
  • Avocado puree
  • Banana puree
  • Baby oatmeal
  • Bean puree
  • Butternut squash puree
  • Egg yolk, hard cooked mashed  with water
  • Green bean puree
  • Melon puree
  • Pea puree
  • Peach puree
  • Peanut Butter Puree
  • Pear puree 
  • Pumpkin puree
  • Sweet potato puree
  • Whole milk plain yogurt
  • Single ingredient baby food

TIP: Find more in depth details on how to know if your baby is ready to start solids here.

6 Month Baby Food Chart for Baby Led Weaning

If you decide to use the baby led weaning method of feeding, you’ll want to cut these foods into the shape of a finger or larger. The foods should also be soft and easily squishable between two fingers—like the texture of a roasted sweet potato wedge or ripe avocado.

You don’t need to feel like you have to serve all of these foods by any means, but it should give you a range of ideas.

  • Apple, roasted wedge
  • Avocado spears
  • Banana
  • Beef, ground (large piece)
  • Beef hamburger patty (sliced)
  • Beet, steamed or roasted
  • Broccoli florets, roasted/steamed
  • Cauliflower florets, roasted/steamed
  • Chicken, dark meat shredded
  • Cucumber
  • Green bean
  • Egg, hard cooked
  • Egg in omelet, sliced
  • Figs, halved
  • Lamb
  • Mango slice
  • Meatball
  • Melon slices
  • Peach, very ripe slice
  • Pear, very ripe slice
  • Potato, roasted wedges
  • Steak slice
  • Sweet potato, roasted wedges
  • Toast with mashed avocado
  • Toast with mashed sweet potato
  • Toast with light smear of peanut butter
  • Toast with mashed hard cooked egg
  • Watermelon slice
  • WiId salmon

TIP: Find my Ultimate Guide to Baby Led Weaning here.

7 Month Baby Food Chart

With a 7 month old baby, you can add in a few more foods including those with more acid like citrus. Continue serving the foods on the 6th month list, or introduce ones that you didn’t get to in that first month.

  • Baby rice crackers
  • Bean puree
  • Beet puree
  • Brussels Sprouts, pureed (or large piece for BLW)
  • Guacamole
  • Kiwi puree (or large piece for BLW)
  • Hummus
  • Mango Puree
  • Mixed ingredient baby foods
  • Orange segment for BLW
  • Pineapple puree (or large piece for BLW)
  • Prune puree
  • Strawberry puree (or large strawberry for BLW)
  • Spinach puree
  • Smoothies (simple)
  • Tomato sauce
  • Tomato sauce with ground meat

TIP: Try my 10 easy No Cook Baby Foods.

9 Month Baby Food Chart

As a baby nears the 9 and 10 month mark, they will begin to be able to pick up small, pea-size pieces of foods with their fingers. This development of the “pincer grasp” means they are ready to start sampling table foods.

A good rule of thumb is to cut foods to about the size of a pea and to serve them very soft and easily squishable between your fingers.

Bread-like textures in foods like pancakes and muffins may be difficult for your child, so you may want to moisten them with water, applesauce, yogurt, breastmilk, or formula.

Remember that babies learn to eat a variety of paces, so follow the lead of your baby and avoid pressuring them to eat foods or amounts of foods that they aren’t ready for. If a baby turns their head away, closes their mouth, shakes their head, or cries, they are done with food and it’s okay to end the meal.

Continue serving foods from the previous months. And try adding:

  • Banana, diced and mashed slightly as needed
  • Barley, cooked until very soft
  • Beans, slightly mashed
  • Beef, ground
  • Blueberries, diced
  • Cheese, shredded
  • Chex cereal
  • Chia seed in smoothies, yogurt or oatmeal
  • Chicken, ground
  • Chicken, shredded and chopped into small pieces
  • Clementines, diced (you may want to remove the slightly tough membrane)
  • Cottage cheese
  • Corn
  • Flaxseed in smoothies, yogurt or oatmeal
  • Goat cheese, soft crumbles
  • Grapes, diced (never whole)
  • Kefir, plain
  • Meatball, diced
  • Muffins, diced (moistened if needed)
  • Millet
  • O cereal
  • Oatmeal
  • Overnight oats
  • Pasta
  • Peas
  • Potatoes, roasted or mashed
  • Puffs
  • Raspberries, diced
  • Pancake, diced (moistened as needed with applesauce)
  • Quinoa
  • Rice
  • Salmon, small pieces
  • Tofu, diced
  • Tomatoes, fresh
  • Tilapia, small pieces
  • Turkey, ground

TIP: Find my best Early Finger Foods, which will cover this stage and early toddlerhood.

Best First Finger Foods for Baby

I put together my go-to first finger foods for babies, which may help you narrow down which foods to start with. Each of these is a nutritious whole food that’s soft and easy for baby to eat. It’s helpful that many of these foods are ones that us grownups like too, so it should make meal planning and prep for the little ones easier on you!

Printable Baby Food Chart

Grab your free copy of my downloadable Baby Food Chart with access to my entire Resource Library of Printable charts by signing up for my newsletter.

You May Also Like

  • ABC Baby Muffins
  • Master List of Baby Snacks
  • Extra-Veggie Baby Soup
  • Sweet Potato Teething Biscuits
  • Master List of Baby Food Recipes

I’d love to hear your feedback on this chart, so please comment below! I always love to hear from you guys.

This post was first published Jan 2019.

OLGA VARPAHOVSKAYA: weaning - a drama of separation or a discovery of new possibilities of cognition?

Speakers

Column by the founder of the Green Door center - about where the word "mother" came from and why a person's verbal communication begins only after weaning.

Olga Varpakhovskaya 09/15/2017

Weaning is an important moment in the life of mother and child. This event for the psyche of the baby, his mother and their relationship is comparable in importance to the separation that they experienced together when the child was born.

If, immediately after birth, communication between the child and mother occurs primarily through smell and bodily communication, which still unites them into a single whole, then a six-eight-month-old baby discovers a new means of communication - speech.

As the French pediatrician Françoise Dolto writes, this transitional period can only be as successful as possible when the child sees that his mother supports his first attempts to communicate with the world with words. “A child may develop his desire to speak because his mother is happy that he is able to communicate with her and with others; he notices her pleasure in her presence and sees his joy in imitating her in his verbal playful exchanges with other people. “...” A person can say “I” because at the very moment when he breathes the common air, moves and develops among others, he desires such communication and such a relationship with other people that changes him when he interacts with them " .

Weaning is the introduction of a child, who has experienced the absolutely necessary presence of the mother, into communication with other people: the child is placed in conditions of speech behavior that allow him to accept the presence of any person with whom the mother maintains a good relationship and with whom he himself develops opportunities, open in communication with mother or father. By expanding the baby's social circle, the mother stimulates the child's speech development.

If the mother does not feel jealous or abandoned when the baby welcomes the arrival of the father and other family members with joyful cries, gestures, smiles, and welcomes his attempts to independently repeat her communication with the world, then this will allow a short body-to-body chain connecting child with mother, turn into a long symbolic chain of verbal communication. Through subtle vocalizations and the meaning of spoken words covering various sensory perceptions, the child improves his verbal communication, supported by the mother's voice, the same as when sucking at the breast.

F. Dolto draws attention to another very important thing: the milk that the child sucks from the mother's breast is the milk of the child, which he himself causes in the mother's body by his sucking and with which he is in communication. And after the refusal of breastfeeding, the child is separated from a part of himself. "He leaves his mother's breast, but in the same way with his first milk food, and opens himself to the acceptance and communion with various and solid foods."

Sometimes a weaned baby suckles his thumb or fist instead. In this case, excommunication failed to some extent for him, he continues to create the illusion of a connection with his mother by placing his finger or fist in his mouth.

The French pediatrician considers it important to emphasize that only after weaning, in its true meaning, does the acquisition of the native language begin, starting with a combination of phonemes accompanying sensations and emotions: tactile sensations from the close presence of the mother, emotions from her approach and removal.

This is an indefinite time of speech, the result of which the child cannot present immediately. He will be able to do this later, by one and a half to two years, when the muscular system is fully formed.

The first two-syllable words, made up of repeated syllables, correspond to the child's sense of self: he connects, like a similar one, with his mother and doubles his feelings. Therefore, as Dolto suggests, the first words spoken by the child consist of two repeating syllables: "ma..ma", "ta..ta" - it is always "he-other", similar, "paired".

The first speech manifestations, where the words are not yet recognizable, but the intentions and intensity of the desire to speak are recognized by the environment, develop in the child inventive manipulation, forcing the parents to come if they are not in his field of vision. He knows well, for example, that if he drops objects with noise or shouts, then an adult comes. And the child does it, like pulling a rope to make a bell ring. For him, it is language.

“If a mother communicates with a child with facial expressions and words at a distance, the child gets real pleasure and applauds with her hands: either with her palms when she is taught this, or, more often, picks up objects and beats them with joy from top to bottom on a fixed support , for example on the table. He lets out cries of joy and is perfectly happy if mom sings along, sharing his joy, which he expresses by banging the object in his rhythm. He knocks, and mom joins in the game with words, sometimes modulating them, and the result is a song - it's fantastic. Everything makes sense."

Now the baby, who is not yet walking, is no longer upset if his mother (or another person replacing her) is not nearby, but within earshot. He does not get bored because he is already a human individual who has an inner life and it flows in connection with the joys of his mother and in association with his own joys. In the joy of the mother, there is also for him the certainty that the father and adults from the environment of the mother are proud of him and that in relation to older children, if any, he is at the stage of overcoming stages that will equalize them.

The most important condition for the humanization of early childhood is a successful solution to the problem of separation of mother and child. Dolto emphasized: the unprepared separation of mother and child, which seems insignificant to many, is hushed up, masked, while it is here that tolerance towards others, mutual assistance, personality-structuring friendship, successful integration of children as creators and independent individuals into the society of one generation with them take their origins.

***

There is a place in Moscow where parents with babies from birth to three years old come together so as not to be alone with their questions and worries, which both mothers and fathers, and even grandparents, who just met their kids, it turns out a lot. This place is Green Door.

The Green Door project in 2017 won the competition for grants from the President of the Russian Federation.

The doors of the "Green Door" are open to all categories of families: complete and single-parent, with one child and large families, local and migrants, with foster children and children with special needs.

It is precisely in order to create the necessary environment for development in each particular family that the “Green Door” exists, its developing, cognitive space for children and a place for communication and generalization for adults - a place where children and parents can receive professional help. Parents and guardians here discover the importance of early socialization of the child, not only so that he can communicate, but, no less important, in order to provide the necessary support to the baby in his difficult work of mastering speech and thinking, comprehending the world around him and his social networks. laws.

About the author: Olga Varpakhovskaya — developmental physiologist, social pedagogue, graduated from Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Founder of the first in Russia, in Moscow, the center for early socialization "Green Door" according to the complex preventive model of the "Green House" F. Dolto, opened on October 2, 1995 and implemented by the NGO "We and Our Children". Author of a number of publications on the adaptation of children and adolescents to educational institutions, early socialization, as well as on the work of F. Dolto and the work of the Green House model.

Weaning - Page 30 - Children and Ancestors

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Posts in the topic: 4152

#581

noodles

Sent by 29.01.2009, 17:25:37

I read it on Danilova's forum:
"To check if a child is ready to say goodbye to a sissy, tell him a fairy tale:

"There was a little sheep. She sucked her mother's milk. Then she grew up a little and began to eat milk and grass. Then the sheep grew up and began to eat only grass. And the milk is over. What will the sheep do?"
Listen to your little one answer the question.
If he says something like: The sheep will cry inconsolably, get sick, etc., then it's too early to wean him.
Usually a child, psychologically ready for weaning, comes up with a more or less happy ending to this tale.
And if the child is still so small that he can’t think of anything, this means that he needs to suck and suck on his mother’s milk until he grows up and decides to refuse himself!

she: "Play!", I: "What to eat?" - "Kefir!" - although she herself drinks kefir very rarely and very little, her answer surprised me very much ...
Now my daughter, when she asks for a tit, says: "Mommy, give me a tit, please!" - we are 1 year and 10 months old, grandmothers or other relatives, when they hear this, they just lie on the floor, but I think it’s time for us to actually stop entertaining people, but I’ll never know how: we don’t have daily feedings they want to leave, even if the daughter falls asleep during the day without a titi, the first thing she remembers when she wakes up is that she is dear. And there are days when titi doesn’t tear at all, although days with 3-4 applications per day are also not very rare ... I decided to start on such a day, but as my daughter felt, we don’t part with tity

It's probably right with a sheep, but what if the child doesn't speak yet? At the age of one, my son already spoke sentences, but by the age of two, my daughter only began to pronounce more or less understandable words. Then what should they answer? So you should know the time with your sixth sense. I think so

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#582

Anusha

Sent by 01/30/2009, 12:20:03

girls,
so what time is it more correct to wean from the breast, somewhere moms regret that they were weaned at a year old, and somewhere they write that it’s better at a year old . . how to gradually wean a child from the chest. p.thank you!
we ask for boobs two or three times a day, I know that a lot, the pediatrician in half said if they decided to gradually wean.

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#583

Aisha

Sent by 01/30/2009, 12:31:33

And I think you need to feed as much as the child wants. I took my son away at the age of a year and a half, he was very worried, and it seems to me that I took him away quite cruelly. But now he is 5 years old, and he constantly touches one of us on the elbow and says tit. It seems that by taking him off my chest, I caused him psychological trauma by taking away the most precious thing that a child has. So think before you take, if feeding is possible, feed as long as possible.

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#584

Anusha

Sent by 01/30/2009, 12:33:08

thanks to Aisha for the answer, yes, in fact, so far this is his most precious thing in the world.. how sweetly he sucks and falls asleep.. really, he doesn’t want his breasts to sag (

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#585

Aisha

Sent by 30.01.2009, 14:05:26

And the chest will recover after some time. They also hung up when I fed my son, and then everything returned to normal

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#586

Alina Sun

Sent by 01. 02.2009, 11:25:09

And I read somewhere that it is undesirable for boys to breastfeed for a long time, that this can somehow affect further relationships with women. How exactly and why I don’t know ... Maybe this is another myth about GW?

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#587

Aisha

Sent by 02/01/2009, 12:48:16

probably because they can become sissy

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#588

Irenko

Sent by 01.02.2009, 13:55:03

what to think before taking away, if feeding is possible, feed as long as possible

+ a million!

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#589

Kinga

Sent by on 02/01/2009, 14:51:39

when I gave birth to a son, I thought that I would feed for up to a year
now we are 1.2 and I think that I will feed until two
I can’t imagine how to live without breastfeeding

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#590

Honeyway

Sent by 01. 02.2009, 15:05:53

We are now 2 years old and haven't sucked in a week. At night, I give my daughter some water to drink when she wakes up. To be honest, I thought it would be difficult, since my daughter could hang on the sis both night and day. During the day I distract her, when suddenly she nestles next to me and with a pen under my T-shirt. True, such eyes, so many requests in them! But I immediately start joking with her and she starts laughing, and in the meantime I change my position, that is, I separate her from me.
Her appetite has clearly improved. Well, in general, everyone is happy, and especially me

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#591

Anusha

Sent by 01.02.2009, 16:34:23

Honeyway
how did you cope with the work?

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#592

Aisha

Sent by 01. 02.2009, 19:56:13

And I feed and work, I get breastfeeding only in the evening, milk is 40% if not more burnt out, as I went to work. But the body immediately reacted that I feed in the evening and produces as much milk as needed for the evening and night. And on the weekends we are exclusively on GW. My daughter doesn't even want to take a bottle in her mouth when I'm around

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#593

chant

Sent by 02/01/2009, 23:45:36

Hello everyone! I planned to feed my son until March (he is 1.4g), and then two weeks ago I sucked for the last time and that’s it (he only sucked 2-3 times at night), I suggest to him, but he was so shy, he closed it with his hand like take it away . .. I was stunned ... Once again, twice, the same story .. does not take. Well, I think how well everything turned out painlessly everything went for me, and most importantly for him. Now I’m saying where to sit, shows, touches and everything, it’s so insulting, he quickly forgot her. I still don't understand what's wrong? Has anyone else had a similar story??

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#594

Honeyway

Sent by 02.02.2009, 00:53:34

Honeyway
how did you cope with work? breastfeeding and work.. it's difficult, after all.

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#595

Jamaica

Sent by 02. 02.2009, 10:21:51

if you plan to wean, then definitely - gradually, not for one month,

and even stretch marks can come out from a sharp increase in breast size

This post has been edited by Jamaica: 02/02/2009, 10:23:11

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#596

Hykatayka2008

Sent by 02.02.2009, 11:33:41

Hello everyone!!!
Please tell me if someone had. I have been breastfeeding since six months with one breast (the second one stopped giving), it turns out I come home from work and once my son sucks. During the day, he sleeps normally even without boobs, but before going to bed at night, you need to smack. Well, in the last month and a half, he has been sleeping terribly simply, he is now a year old, wakes up 6-8 times at night, screams and nothing but his chest can calm me down. One friend said that it was because of his chest that he wakes up and sleeps restlessly . Maybe it's time to wean? And is it not too early or is it better to take him away until he understands?
Thanks in advance for your answers!

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#597

Aisha

Sent by 02.02.2009, 11:46:13

The child is looking for the breast at night, and if you take it away, you will have to give a bottle of drink at night and several times. When I took my son away at a year and a half, he cried so much at night and we constantly gave him either tea or juices, and such frequent drinking from a bottle led to early dental caries in him, now all his teeth are black from silvering

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#598

Irenko

Sent by 02. 02.2009, 12:12:36

Well, in the last month and a half he has been sleeping terribly simply, he is now a year old, wakes up 6-8 times a night, screams and nothing but his chest can calm me down One friend told me that it is precisely because of his chest that he wakes up and sleep restlessly. Maybe it's time to wean? And is it not too early or is it better to take him away until he understands?

the baby misses his mother during the day, so he comes off at night, I think so

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#599

Kolyasha_79

Sent by 02.02.2009, 12:16:14

I know several people whose babies were on breastfeeding up to 1. 5-2 years old and all of them have silvered-black teeth, because they gave juices and other things at night ... it seems to me that it is optimal to feed up to a year, I don’t see anything good when somewhere on the street, a child comes up to his mother, lifts up his T-shirt and sticks to his sisa, and there’s nothing beautiful in black teeth either .... my eldest daughter, she’s 2.2, has been sleeping separately in her room for about a year night, does not ask for anything to drink, only water before going to bed .... everyone gets enough sleep, everyone is happy

Because I don’t breastfeed her, I didn’t love her less and neither did she

Post has been editedKolyasha_79: 02/02/2009, 12:17:54

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#600

Irenko

Sent by 02.

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