Where does the 'food is for fun until they're one' phrase come from?

[Jojay]

I've heard it mentioned a lot on here, but never in RL.

Or from a HCP or in any weaning / infant feeding books.

Anyone know? Or it a MN exclusive

No, not a MN exclusive. I came across it on babyledweaning.com, so I'm guessing it came from the BLW guru herself, Gill Rapley. You'll need to google babyledweaning today though, cos the direct .com link doesn't seem to be working...

I always got it as 'until they're one it's just for fun', but obviously it all means the same thing!

I've read Gill Rapley's book and I don't remember seeing it in there, but maybe it is a BLW thing.

Babyledweaning.com is a site written by a mumsnetter isn't it - Aitch??

Maybe she knows where it came from.

I just find it a bit odd as it's mentioned so regularly on here. I worry ( possibly with no foundation) that it has no medical back up and it implies that babies don't really need food until they're one. I'm certainly not qualified to comment on that, but it contradicts most weaning literature I've read.

I really don't think it means no food is needed until they are one, but rather, do not get hung up on making them eat loads and loads, and let them play and learn about food at their paces, as they get plenty of nutrition from milk at this stage. ie if they eat half their food and spread the rest across their face its ok.

Aitch would know where it comes from.

I agree that that is how it should be interpreted, but I worry it could be taken too literally

Maybe it's in some of Gill's source material then? I feel like I've been reading stuff about it for so long I no longer have any idea where most of it came from! There are a few good links on the right hand side of the (mostly defunct as there is now a forum) blw blog, which might take you to some of the original research..?

I think it depends on what anyone means by 'need' solid food. Good quality research certainly now shows that milk should provide the majority of nutrients in the first year, and that solid food should be complementary to it, not replace it (as medical and popular wisdom has had it for many decades) in that year. There is certainly no evidence that breastmilk is deficient in anything vital for way beyond the first year (and yes, the debate about iron rages on, but there is quite good evidence that while there's not much in quantity, it's significantly more bio-available than iron from solid food sources, so it's probably swings and roundabouts). Which isn't to say a baby can't get nutritional benefit from solid food, just that it doesn't appear to be absolutely essential? That's not scientifically extrapolated, BTW, just what I took from all the info available when I was doing my research 2.5 yrs ago!

There are many cultures in which solid food plays very little part in a child's early diet until they're two or so. And there's masses of anecdotal evidence of thriving, happy babies eating very little solid food (my daughter included, despite being offered it at every meal) until way past the 6 month mark.

Hope some of that helps . Of course, whatever the research tells anyone, you'll always find a bag load of people who did exactly the opposite and it worked fine for them .

I thought i'd read it in the Gill Rapley book, but maybe i'm wrong. Hoping to see her at the Children's food festival today so will try to ask her if i get the opportunity!

Oops, sorry i forgot about asking this one Must have been too starstruck She didn't say the phrase in her talk though. She did say she wouldn't expect babies to start reducing their milk intake until they're about nine months if that's any help.
I suppose if you trust in the theory of baby led weaning, then you need to trust your baby to know when to start taking food and when to reduce milk intake. I have a feeling my DD is just going to carry on taking whatever's offered to her though

I think this comes from Tracey Hogg (who wrote the baby whisperer books. I have got the Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems (had some moajor sleep issues at 4 months that with the help of that book got so much better) and I'm sure I read phrase in her section about food. Hope that helps