Baby-led weaning is a form of infant feeding that allows infants to self-feed, explore textures, and develop feeding skills.
Hannah Shifflette, ©2026, Clemson Extension
Is Your Baby Ready for Solid Foods?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends feeding only breast milk or a prepared iron-fortified formula until six months of age. When your child is developmentally ready, you may slowly begin to introduce solid foods.
When ready for solid foods, your baby will:
- Be around 6 months old, though readiness varies by child
- Have good head and neck control
- Be able to sit well with little support
- Diminished tongue-thrust reflex
- Show interest in foods that others are eating
- Open mouth for food
- Be able to bring food to their mouth
If your baby does not seem interested, simply wait a few days and try again. The pediatrician will also discuss the introduction of solid foods when your child is developmentally ready. Keep in mind that until a child is one, their primary source of nutrition will continue to be breast milk or infant formula.
Starting Solid Foods
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Nutrition Facts on food labels do not apply to children under age two. Infant and toddler food labels supply different information from adult food labels. Serving sizes are based on average amounts that an infant or toddler will eat at one time. Also, food labels do not list the calories from fat, just the total fat and trans-fat per serving. Refer to HGIC 4100, Feeding Your Infant for general guidelines on when to offer specific foods to your infant.
Start Slowly
- Begin with single-ingredient foods and allow your baby to adjust to it for about a week before offering the next new food. This allows you time to watch for signs of an allergic reaction (e.g. rash, hives, coughing, diarrhea or vomiting), and makes it easier for you to determine which food may have caused it.
- Each child is different; however, current guidelines suggest that delaying the introduction of common allergens may increase a child’s risk of allergies. Once a child is developmentally ready for solids (if generally considered low risk for allergies), they may be given small amounts of eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, and fish.
- Offer food in small amounts. For a smooth texture, foods can be mixed with a little breast milk, formula or water. Start with one or two teaspoons of food. As your baby wants more, increase the amount to one or two tablespoons, two to three times a day.
- Offer your baby iron rich foods early on to aid in brain development, immune function and energy levels. To help your baby’s body absorb the iron in iron-rich foods, serve alongside vitamin C-rich foods. Learn more about iron rich foods.
- Keep in mind, if you are able to mash a food easily with your fingers, your baby can use their gums to “mash” it in their mouth. Teeth are not a necessity!
- Cereal: If choosing to offer cereal, pick a single-grain, iron-enriched, whole-grain variety such as whole-grain oat or whole-grain barley. To prepare, mix a small amount of baby cereal with formula, breast milk or even water to create a creamy “soup.” Do not sweeten the taste by adding things like mashed bananas, applesauce or juice. This is because it is best to introduce only one food at a time, and second, because it’s better for baby to acquire a taste for plain before you sweeten the cereal.
- Vegetables: Vegetables make a wonderful first food for infants! They are not naturally as sweet as fruits, so infants will not develop a preference for sweeter foods. Vegetables are also wonderful sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Cook down the vegetable well so it is very soft before serving, or you can puree them after cooking using a blender.
- Fruit: Easily digestible first fruits include finely mashed bananas, baby applesauce, peaches and pears. For something completely different, and completely baby-friendly, start with smoothed-down mashed or pureed/mashed ripe avocado.
Baby Led Weaning
In recent years, a new approach to introducing solids has become increasingly popular: baby-led weaning. This method focuses on responsive feeding and lets babies feed themselves with their hands instead of being spoon-fed purees by a caregiver. Rather than following the traditional “stages” of commercially prepared baby foods, babies are offered a variety of foods and textures from the start, including soft pieces of food they can grasp and bring to their mouth on their own. Many families appreciate the convenience of baby-led weaning since babies can often eat modified versions of the same foods the rest of the family is having, which can mean fewer separate meal preparations.
Some of the benefits of self-feeding may include:
- Promotion of oral-motor development including chewing skills
- Enhanced fine and gross motor skills
- Increased willingness to try new foods/textures
- A healthy relationship with foods
- Acceptance of foods from the family’s culture
- Supporting safer eating habits and protects against choking
Learn more about baby-led weaning and how to get started safely from Solid Starts.
Keep Trying!
Do not give up if your baby rejects a new food the first time you offer it to them. Research shows that a baby must be exposed to a new food up to 10 times before they decide if they like it. If your baby makes a little face when you offer a new food, they are simply saying, “I do not recognize that food.” To improve chances of acceptance, offer a new food at several different meals. Also, try mixing a little of a new food with one you know they already like. For example, if your baby likes bananas, then introduce peaches by mixing them with bananas. Your baby may like foods that you dislike, so do not let your food biases limit what you feed your baby. Offer them a wide variety of foods with different flavors, colors, shapes and textures. This makes mealtime more fun while meeting their nutritional needs. However, remember that your baby’s likes and dislikes may change from week to week.
Making Your Own Baby Food
Most commercial baby food companies today do not add salt, sugar and starch, which is a big change from the past. With nutrition labeling, you can be assured of what is in the food. Commercial baby food companies package baby food for different stages, such as stage 1, 2 or 3, depending on the texture of the food.
However, you do not have to buy commercially prepared infant food. You can make nutritious, economical baby food at home from fresh ingredients:
- Vegetables and fruits (fresh-cooked, canned or frozen), can be pureed with no added salt, sugar or fat. Puree means to put food through a blender to make the food into a liquid-like, smooth texture.
- Using simple kitchen tools (e.g. fork, blender, strainer, food mill, or baby food grinder), you can adapt many foods from the family table to suit your baby. You may need to add some fluid (formula, breast milk, water or cooking water) to make it the right consistency for your baby.
- To freeze baby food, pour the cooled, pureed food into a paper cupcake liner or a section of a clean ice cube tray and cover with foil. When solidly frozen, place cubes in a freezer bag or container and store in the freezer. Reheat frozen cubes in a heat-resistant container in a pan of hot water.
- Refer to HGIC 4259, Making Your Own Baby Food for more information and baby food recipes.
Beware of Choking Hazards
Avoid foods that are round and firm, slippery, sticky, or cut in large chunks, since these foods may cause choking such as:
- Nuts, seeds, and peanuts
- Raw produce such as carrots, celery, apple or pear slices, and unpeeled fruits and vegetables
- Whole beans
- Whole kernel corn
- Cherry tomatoes
- Whole grapes
- Whole berries
- Cherries with pits
- Raisins, dates and other dried fruits
- Large chunks of cheese or meat (especially tough meats)
- Hot dogs
- Adult dry cereal
- Snacks such as popcorn, chips, or pretzels
- Pickles
- Whole olives
- Marshmallows (regular or miniature)
- Hard, sticky, or gummy candies
- Cough drops
- Chewing gum
Toddlers can begin to eat some of these foods if cut into small pieces. Appropriate finger foods for older babies and toddlers are pieces of banana, graham crackers, and strips of cheese or toast. Usually, a toddler can manage food up to ¼ inch, and a preschooler can eat food no larger than ½ inch. Be prepared to use the Heimlich maneuver technique for infants and toddlers if your child is choking and cannot breathe, cough, talk, or cry. Keep the following guidance in mind to reduce the risk of choking:
- Avoid feeding your baby in the car: It is much harder to help a choking baby while you are driving. Also, keep in mind that propping your baby’s bottle at feeding time is a choking hazard too.
- Stay close and seated: At this point, eating should be a spectator sport, with you closely watching every bite your baby takes. Also, only offer finger foods to your baby only when they are sitting down — not crawling, cruising or toddling around. Eating on the run is unsafe for the inexperienced eater.
- Start small: Cut food into pieces tiny enough that your baby can swallow them whole if they do not spend any time gumming them. As your baby gets used to eating pieces of soft, solid food (and as you get more comfortable watching them eat them successfully), gradually move up — from minced to chopped to small cubes.
- Offer only “baby-sized” portions: Place only one or two chunks at a time on the plate or tray so they do not try to eat more than they can handle.
Hunger and Fullness Cues
If your baby is hungry, they will move their head forward to reach the spoon and hold their mouth open as the spoon approaches. They also may swipe food toward their mouth, point, nod or grab the spoon. To signal that they are full, your baby may:
- Turn their head away from the spoon.
- Spit out familiar foods.
- Clench their mouth shut.
- Push away the food.
- Cover their face with their hands.
- Become distracted.
When your baby gives you any of these cues, stop feeding and offer something to drink. If they still are not interested in eating, it is time to stop. Never force your infant to clean their plate.
Food Safety Tips
Follow these steps to reduce bacterial growth in food and keep your baby from getting sick:
- Do not serve your baby commercial baby food unless the safety button in the jar lid is down and the lid “pops” when opened. Avoid baby food jars with chipped glass or rusty lids.
- Transfer an amount of food that you think your baby will eat to a dish. Feeding directly from the baby food jar allows bacteria from the baby’s mouth to get into the food, where it may grow and multiply until the food is served again. This may cause illness.
- If your baby wants a second helping, take more food from the jar with a clean spoon.
- Refrigerate food left in the jar and use within one to two days after opening.
- Throw away uneaten food left in the dish.
- Microwave Carefully: Baby foods can be slightly warmed, served at room temperature or cold. If you decide to heat your baby’s food in the microwave, follow these safety tips.
- Spoon a single serving from the original container into a dish that is microwave safe.
- The heat in a microwave is uneven, causing “hot spots’ in foods that can burn your baby’s mouth and throat. Food in a jar may “blow up” in your microwave.
- Heat food only a few seconds. When it reaches a lukewarm temperature, stir to prevent “hot spots,” and let “rest” for at least 30 seconds.
- You should warm higher-fat foods, such as meat and eggs, on the stove, because they heat faster and splatter or overheat more.
- Taste food before feeding the baby so you know the temperature is lukewarm. Feed the baby with a new clean spoon and throw away any leftover food.
- Never leave baby food, solid or liquid, at room temperature for more than two hours. If food is left out longer, bacteria can grow to harmful levels. For more food safety tips, refer to HGIC 3640, Food Safety for Mothers and Babies
Introducing a Cup
Most babies enjoy trying to drink from a cup at about six to nine months of age. Choose a child-size unbreakable cup, that is either open faced or has a hard spout to promote dental health. Keep in mind the following guidelines when beginning to offer a cup:
- Bottles: When you begin to offer solids, do not put anything in your infant’s bottle other than infant formula or breast milk. Adding infant cereal or pureed foods is a choking hazard and has not been proven to help babies stay fuller for longer. Adding cereal to bottles could also lead to constipation. Solid foods should only be offered in a bowl with a spoon. Juice, if offered, should only be given over age 1 and in a cup.
- Limit Juice: If choosing to serve juice, choose 100% unsweetened pasteurized fruit or vegetable juice and limit the amount given. Make sure that drinking juice does not interfere with your infant’s eating of other nutritious foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no juice at all for infants, and limiting juice for children ages 1 year and up. See Beverages for Your Baby for more information on appropriate drinks for young children.
Have Fun!
Introducing solid foods is a learning experience for both you and your baby, and it starts with a positive parent-child partnership. Try your best to lead by example by eating a variety of healthy foods yourself. If you avoid carrots or green peas, your child may notice and be more likely to do the same. Keeping a relaxed, positive attitude can go a long way in helping your baby build a healthy relationship with food!
For more information, refer to HGIC 4107, Partners for Healthy Eating.
Revision Sources:
- Healthy Eating Research. (n.d.). Healthy Drinks Healthy Kids. https://healthydrinkshealthykids.org
- Solid Starts. (n.d.). Baby-led weaning. https://solidstarts.com/
Originally published 10/08
