Baby: Independent or traditional feeding?

Parents of young babies often wonder about feeding their babies: “How do I do it? How do I start? Pureed or chunky?”

First, let’s define the two types of food diversification. There is the traditional method, which consists of offering purees to the child first. Then there is child-led diversification (CDD). In this method, parents will offer large pieces directly to the child, who will eat like the rest of the family.

At the moment, DME is a very popular method. However, not all parents are comfortable with this method since it can be scary. From our side, we do not believe that one method is better than another. Only two things are important: Is your child fed? Is the meal stress-free for the whole family? That’s it! From there, make your choice based on what is best for you, your child and your family! Every family is unique! For you, it could be a mixed method that combines a little of both methods and that’s fine!

If you choose DME, the biggest advantage is the simplicity! No need to make several meals, baby will eat like everyone else. However, one disadvantage can be the fear of choking the baby. There are a few things to learn to avoid the risk of choking. For example, the importance of cutting food according to the child’s abilities.

If you opt for traditional or mixed feeding diversification instead, there are also advantages! It can take some of the stress off of you. Besides, you don’t necessarily have to make multiple meals since it’s possible to puree the family meal using a blender.