Spoon feed babies are more likely to become obese

[clairikins]

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2535141/Spoon-fed-babies-likely-overweight-bodies-dont-recognise-full.html

I may have to show this to my HV

Of course they can. And they have for some time.

And most people nowadays incorporate a great deal of solid food into the diet.

It's not rocket science is it.

Anecdotes do not make data.

No one is saying that all parents who spoon feed....or all babies that are spoon-fed....

Just in this study the babies who were BLW were less likely to be overweight and were less fussy than those who were spoon fed.

They seemed to take into account lots of things that might explain it and yes, its just one study but I think its interesting and makes sense

Hmm. Could be difficult without a full set of teeth though. Have to be careful concerning choking as well. I used to have to really watch mine. Although the advice then was from 6 months. Is it later now? Tbh he didn't eat much at all to start with. Still breast fed a lot.

Babies aren't meant to eat much to start with - if you look at the WHO guidance it's something like 200 calories a day from solid foods at 6 - 9 months. Rest is meant to come from milk. So not being able to eat much might be a good thing

DS hasn't got any teeth yet and he's 11 months, they can still go to town with those gums though.

Few points

• although they don't have teeth they can eat most foods. The gums are hard because the teeth are underneath them. Other then raw carrot then can eat pretty much anything

• Babies are just as likely to choke on solids then purreed food. As long as they are not feed whole nuts, are sat up, and feed themself they should be fine. You should never leave a child to feed themself whatever you feed them

• And yes from 6 months. Yes their diet will prodominately milk and gradually that will drop as they consume more. Normally they don't eat 3 meals a day for a good few months afterward

Well it all turned out Ok in the end. Tbh I stuck to the advise as it was at the time and my ds was not really interested until fresh fruit was in the offing.
Baby rice and potato were the foods advised to start with, not interested. Then puréed pair - liked. Then puréed vegetables - varied. The first time he ate fresh berry fruits he laughed with joy. Eating was never so much fun before!

The other thing about this article that is really annoying is that it is divides parents into two camps - spoon feeding or BLW. Surely people don't just stick to one approach, blindly following instructions from some dictatorial book?
It can only be down to parenting style - a spoonfed baby in an environment where food isn't an issue but just something to be enjoyed healthily is no more likely to become overweight than a BLW baby who grows up hearing about calories, diets, having to clear their plate, etc.
You just know that some moron reading this will think if they chuck bits of sausage, pizza and chips on their child's tray for them to pick up that will be healthier than them feeding them a spoonful of homecooked dinner.

So this thread was posted to be smug about the choice you made about weaning? From a DM article no less?

I still have to spoon feed my nearly 7 yr old. He's no way near overweight. The article is bollocks. Just like most dm articles.

Greta, some people do.

I joined the BLW facebook group and swiftly left, because of the regular arguments about spoons.

This is one of those things that makes adults lose control of their senses.

Smug is the word, gamerchick

Arguments about spoons - that's hilarious! I wish I had time to argue about spoons.

Anyone else find the anti-purée anti-spoon bias on mumsnet pretty tiresome?? I weaned my DS using a mixture of spoon fed purées and finger foods, moving quickly up through more textured food, lumps and now at 13mo he eats totally normally - our family dinners and lunches. He still has a mixture of spoon feeding and feeding himself - for example tonight I spoon fed him some cottage pie as he are some brocoli with his hands.

I couldn't force feed my DS if I tried!! He is very clear wen he is full up/bored (refuses spoon, turns away, smacks it out my hand etc etc).

I find the underlying assumption that spoon fed babies are somehow more stupid than pure BLW'd babies, and are unable to regulate their appetite to be mildly offensive. But there a lot of this tosh on MN and it seems to be all tied up with some similarly daft and offensive assumptions about formula feeding. Le sigh.

Apologies for typos. Cannot type on this damn phone. probably cos my fingers are so fat and sausagey as a result of being weaned on jars of cow and gate baby food in the late 70s of course

Yes Bot The spoon snobbery kicked off after mine were weaned. All skinny, and I managed not to stuff food into them - as you say Bot they turned their head away. I let them eat stuff with their fingers because I didn't have any rigid notions about only spoonfeeding.

BB - you took the words out of my mouth! We're weaning similarly to you, but not because some squillionaire author has told me I have to do it like that - a bit of everything, after all I don't eat pieces of cake, soups and casseroles in the same way so why would I make my baby eat everything the same way?

At risk of flaming, is blw more of a middle class thing? Another confounding factor

Totally agree,

Also my DDs are 15&12, I am MC and I hadn't heard of BLW.

Therefore, it's probably impossible to do this study with DCs old enough to tell you anything useful.

DD1 was still frighteningly fussy and DD2 really easy to feed and both about average weight.

Today DD1 eats everything is not over weight (just) and DD2 is very very fussy and way lighter.

What a load of bollocks!

I spoon fed my dd1 who is 18 and could climb though the letter box now. She eats healthy , drinks plenty of water and attends the gym.

I have/am spoon feeding along self feeding dd2.

The difference is the cheap processed food we are peddled or healthy home made food and encouraging our children to be active in stead of sat in front of the tv.

People need to go back to basics and not even touch the so called health foods as they are full of chemicals.

Spoon feeding my arse!

I also did baby led weening from six months but tbh she wasn't that interested. She has only started to refuse me and want to do it her self at nine months.

Which health foods are full of chemicals Tinker?

My 3 DDs were weaned on homemade purees but I didn't ever encourage them to eat more than they wanted. When they were done, they were done and I've followed that principle ever since.

Other than the obvious like junk food and ready meals, etc. I think the biggest problem is parents thinking that their DC need more food than they actually do, so they make them finish their meals and fuss endlessly about how much their children are eating. A few people have said to me that 'there is nothing' on their DC when in actual fact their DC are just an average build, but the way they say it is that they think their DC are skinny and need feeding up. They don't I don't feel the need to do this with my very skinny DDs, because they eat enough to be healthy. Most children naturally eat enough to be healthy.

I'm fairly sure BLW has been around forever, but it was called 'finger food' previously. Nothing like a fancy new name to get everyone excited about old news!

Surely it's the type of food and the portion size, rather than the method of eating, that counts?!

Pfft.

Lots!
Low fat spreads, 1 cal spray ( which I have used for years)! Canola oil which is touted as a healthier oil is actually poisonous to animals and humans in its original form has to be chemically treated to we can use it! Butter is actually the 'healthier' option along side olive oil. Animal fat is actually healthier fir you!

As capsicum said up thread, the amount if shit sugar in our foods does massive damage to our insulin levels which then make us store fat, so then we go on to sweeteners to be healthier and you might as well pour bleach down your neck .

Gluten is injected to a lot of food to bind in together,honestly if it looks like it was made in a factory, don't eat it.

Bread- wheat is the devil !