Nursery World - On a spoon

When babies in your nursery are being weaned on to solid food, practitioners will have to co-ordinate the process with their parents. Penny Tassoni has advice In some ways there is more to weaning than first meets the eye. It is easy to imagine that weaning is just about encouraging babies to take solid food, but in reality babies are learning about food itself.

In some ways there is more to weaning than first meets the eye. It is easy to imagine that weaning is just about encouraging babies to take solid food, but in reality babies are learning about food itself.

Food plays an important role in everyone's life and it would appear that patterns of eating and attitudes towards food are developed in early childhood. With childhood obesity having doubled since the 1980s, the way that we introduce foods to babies deserves some thought.

First, we may need to consider what messages babies and young children are given as they are being fed. Attitudes left over from the Second World War, when food was compulsorily rationed, have often permeated down through families. Claire, who has struggled with her weight, reflects, 'I look back at meal times and remember being told off if any food was left on my plate.

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