Parents to be offered weaning advice following concerning survey results

The UK government is launching a new campaign to offer parents advice on how to begin introducing their babies to solid foods.

Announced yesterday, parents are now being supported through a government campaign, which promotes advice from the NHS about how parents go about safely starting their children on the weaning process – introducing solid foods to babies.

The campaign includes a new advice website and the government have provided £300m worth of funding to create 75 family hubs across England that will give support to parents and carers.

Authorities have decided to provide more assistance after a survey, conducted by Censuswide, of 2,000 parents of children aged between three to 18 months, which found that almost half did not know the right time to wean their baby.

Around half of the parents surveyed had also mistaken behaviours like looking at or grabbing food to mean the baby was ready to consume solids.  

NHS guidelines show babies should be introduced to solid foods from around six months old, alongside break milk or infant formula, despite parents thinking the process should be started at five months or earlier.

Data from the National Child Measurement Programme has shown a quarter pf children start school overweight, the government hopes the new campaign will promote more healthy eating at home.

Neil O’Brien, Minister for Primary Care, said: ‘The first 1,001 days are crucial for a child’s development.

‘Weaning can influence a baby’s eating habits and their health later in life.’

The government campaign highlights there are three signs to look for whilst considering whether your baby is ready to begin weaning which include if they can stay in a sitting position, hold their head up, co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mother so they look at their food, pick it up and put it in their mouth and swallow food rather than immediately spit it back out.

Child Nutritionist, Charlotte Stirling Reed, said: ‘As a mum and a nutritionist, I’m in agreement with [yesterday’s] survey findings – weaning can be a very confusing and overwhelming time for parents.

‘You can start with single vegetables and fruits that are mashed or blended. I’ve always found preparing food from scratch is the easiest and cheapest way to create healthier meals for mu children, and have used Start for Life weaning hub for great recipes which are really easy to make and nutritious.’

Photo by hui sang