• All we need is to embrace any and everything that works for our children and us

When my son was growing and it was time to start introducing him to solids, I was excited to try the baby-led weaning approach. I bought the high chair, plastic bibs and armed myself with practical recipes.

It was great the first few days as he took a liking to his chair, hammering on the plastic tray like a rockstar! It was also exciting to watch him pick up the food, playing with it and putting it into his mouth.

I started the weaning journey with the intention that I would allow the baby to feed himself only as a secondary method of feeding. That the most important part of this journey was to allow him to understand and recognise food for what it was. It was a discovery of textures, flavours and motor skills. I still relied on spoon-feeding the baby to make sure that he got enough nourishment.

My son soon understood that the food on his tray was a play dough of sorts that makes squelching sounds when squeezed or moulded under his palm when he pressed it. He got more excited to play with it than to eat it. It was, therefore, up to me to make sure he ate. I fed him as he continued to play or try to eat the food on his tray.

Another thing that does not make baby-led weaning practical is the food itself. Although I started out with purees and mashed food, it became more prudent to feed him what we ate.

Our type of food are not necessarily the most suited for baby-led weaning. Ugali, rice, stews, mahamris and chapatis are our staples and are important to introduce to our baby’s food journeys as early as possible. Unfortunately, these are not the type of foods to let children eat by themselves even under supervision. Leaving a baby alone with rice is grounds for disaster.

It is Eid mid-morning and I cannot find anything in the house that is not made of sugar or eggs. I just fed the baby leftover white rice, cabbage and chopped up liver. This meal was hard to feed the baby using a spoon. Sometimes it is just so much easier to feed your child by hand. Most African foods are designed to eat by hand so even spoon-feeding is not conducive for baby weaning.

As an individual who is open to modernist approaches, I find myself conceding that traditional methods of child rearing are at times best suited for our kids. When it comes down to it, there is no one right answer. Sometimes, all we need is to embrace any and everything that works for our children and us.

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