Weaning, whether you choose to do baby led or purée should be a messy process and whilst that sadly means you have an extra mess to tidy up at the end of mealtimes, it is actually a huge learning process and positive experience for your baby.

Weaning should be a full on sensory experience. Children who are allowed to explore their food through exploration (touching it, squishing it and putting it to their own mouths to taste) become more familiar with the food in question and are less likely to become unsure of it as they become toddlers, who are naturally wary of new foods. (Apparently this is a survival technique handed down from our ancestors to avoid us eating poisonous foods back in the day. Helpful then but not so much now!)

It important to try not to clean as you go with a weaning baby, it can actually be detrimental to baby. Babies need to learn that it’s ok to get messy, and weaning provides them with a safe way to explore different sensory learning experiences. If they get food on their hands and face, leave it there until the end of the meal, don’t wipe down hands or scrape at faces with the spoon. Have a wet cloth or a bowl of warm water ready for the end of the mealtime, and then clean up together.

Of course our Double Up Bib set can help keep most of the mess contained and to a minimum!

A huge array of learning takes place during mealtimes with a baby and not just the adult learning that a tiny human can make the biggest of messes!

Babies learn hand eye coordination when they practice bringing the food to their mouths, they strengthen their fine motor skills by managing to pick the food up with their fingers.

For example perfecting their pincer grip whilst learning to pick up peas/sweetcorn with their fingers. They learn about different textures and temperatures (cold fruits and vegetables can be soothing on sore gums).

Babies also learn social skills, which is why we would recommend eating with your baby when possible, even if it’s just a floret or 2 of broccoli to encourage him/her to do the same. Weaning can and should be a fun and enjoyable experience for both baby and carer and it can also be a wonderful bonding experience. Lots of eye contact happens at the table and lots of new vocabulary will be heard by baby.

Enjoy the process and maybe even the mess your baby creates whilst they are getting the best introduction to food.

There’s no way to avoid mess completely when feeding babies - trust that they will in time learn to use cutlery and not throw food. But by understanding why mess is so important during weaning, and by preparing yourself, you can really start to enjoy the overall experience.