The discussion will be taking part betwen 2pm and 3pm on BBC Three Counties radio (95.5 / 103.8 / 104.5 FM).
Listen in for some lively debate!

Please find [a photo of] my John, how he wonderfully operates the fork, aged 13 months and 10 days. The idea of the fork before the spoon - great!

Anna

An article published today in BMJ Open shows that baby-led weaning helps children to eat healthily.

Researchers found that babies who fed themselves with finger foods from the start of weaning were likely to eat more healthily and have a healthier BMI later than those who were spoon fed purees. Children who were weaned using a baby-led approach liked carbohydrates more than children who had been spoon fed, whereas children in the spoon-fed group liked sweet foods the best. More children in the spoon-fed group were overweight or obese than those in the baby-led group.

The authors say: “Our study suggests that baby-led weaning has a positive impact on the liking for foods that form the building blocks of healthy nutrition, such as carbohydrates. This has implications for combating the well-documented rise of obesity in contemporary societies”.

The findings are based on 155 children between the ages of 20 months and 6.5 years, whose parents completed a detailed questionnaire about their children’s weaning style and food preferences.

This confirms what parents of BLW babies have known all along: babies really do know best!

The study Baby knows best? The impact of weaning style on food preferences and body mass index in early childhood can be viewed here.

Click here for press coverage.

Here's my 10-month old John, who's been on BLW for 4 months now. Happily-fed, happily growing. Many thanks!Anna

Baby Roxana , 6 months old. Anyone can tell she loves bananas! :-)

Amber writes:

This is Charlye Elizabeth-7 months eating chicken,brocoli and cheese. I was nervous about doing baby led weaning but my daughter really took to it and we have not looked back since!It has also made me take a good look at what I was feeding my family and adjust for the better! Thank you for a good website! Happy eating!!

I absolutely dreaded the idea of feeding my daughter pureed food. It seemed so unnatural. Introducing her to REAL food made more sense to me. But I didn’t know how to go about it. I was soooo excited when I finally came across your book. Thank you for guiding me in this process and giving me confidence as a parent. - Deborah, mum of Miriam

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

Sift the flour and cinnamon into a large bowl and add the sugar and lemon zest.

Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, olive oil and lemon juice, stirring as you go, to make a smooth mixture.

Peel, core and chop the apples into roughly 2cm (1in) cubes. Fold them gently into the cake mixture and pour everything into a lightly greased 17cm (7in) round cake tin.

Oven bake for 40–45 minutes until firm to the touch in the centre and golden brown on top.

Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack.

Serve cold as a snack, or warm with cream or home-made custard (see page 161 in the book) .

Option
• You can swap the cinnamon for nutmeg, or use crisp pears instead of apples.