Introducing Food in Partnership with your Baby
March 2025
“Food should always be a pleasure”
A famous quote by Dr Emmi Pikler, and is based on her work, which is all about the relationship created between the adult and the child being the key. Dr Pikler's approach and choreography for the creation of that peaceful, trust-filled relationship is what makes her work genius.
The adult in the relationship acknowledges the child as a free and equal human being, an equal partner in the relationship.
In the relationship, the adult does everything 'with' the baby and does nothing 'to' the baby.
Dr Emmi Pikler counselled parents and staff alike:
“Not one spoonful more, NOT EVER”
Would you like to be force fed food you do not like, or force-fed more when you have had enough? When you respect your child and listen to the messages (he or) she gives you, they in turn learn respect; and when you trust them, they learn trust.
“The warmth of the embrace while enjoying a meal affords real pleasure to the baby” Pennie Brownlee
Food is one of the main ways that you build trust and respect with your baby. Every food is new to a baby, and they do not know if they like it until they try it. Every baby will let you know if they do not like a certain food, and they will let you know when they have had enough.
Will you listen to what your baby is telling you? Or will you ignore what they want and cajole and trick them into doing what you want? Every mealtime is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your trust in your baby’s wisdom, and to respect them as an equal human being. Your response to your baby’s messages to you decides whether your baby will end up fighting you around food … or not.
Food should always be a pleasure. That means, that just like you, your baby will want to decide when he or she is ready for the next mouthful. The best way to set it up so your baby decides is to hold the loaded spoon up at your baby’s eye level about thirty centimetres from your baby’s face. That way your baby can see that you are ready. When your baby is ready for the next mouthful, they will open their mouth to let you know that they are ready. This is elegance in action - true partnership.
Some foods can be eaten with fingers, but other foods will need to be pureed and eaten with a spoon. Out of respect for your baby’s digestive system, wait until your baby has four molars before you offer food that requires serious chewing. And you can rest assured, research shows that babies do not starve themselves to death if they are offered nutritious foods, and if they can choose what they eat and how much. On the contrary, they grow into connoisseurs who really appreciate their food.
I haven’t met any adults who prefer water or wine out of plastic cups, or to eat a meal from plastic plates. Have you considered trusting our babies to use china, glass, or whatever we are using to eat and drink from. Glass allows the child to see the colours and the texture of the meal.
Before too long, around the end of the first year, the baby is wanting to dine with the family and friends around the table. She wants to join the family in the important ritual of sharing food for the pleasure of their company. It is in your hands. Work in partnership alongside your child so that food, drink, & mealtimes are always a pleasure.
“The single most important task of parents and those who care for our little ones at this time on Planet Earth is to model peaceful partnerships. That means we adults will act in partnership with our babies and children. Being ‘respectful partners’ will then be effortless for our children because they won’t know any other way.” Pennie Brownlee
The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond. Visit the World Health Organisation site: http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/