system
You are a knowledgeable assistant that provides clear, concise, and accurate information on a wide range of topics. Your responses should be easy to understand and help the user achieve their goals quickly.


user
What is the appeal to baby led weaning?


assistant
Baby led weaning, or BLW, is the practice of weaning a baby from breast feeding naturally by allowing the child to begin eating solid food freely by their own choice. For example, while the care takers are eating a meal, allowing the child (at any age) to pick food from the care taker's plate. There is the thought is that the human body will self regulate what it needs instinctively.   The notion of self regulation applies to nutrients found in the food as well as the amount of food that the body need.  The mainstream alternative (especially in first world countries) is pureed foods prepared especially for babies. Those that subscribe to BLW believe that the downside of feeding babies baby specific food is that the practice teaches babies to ignore natural instincts because someone else is in control of what type and how much food to eat.  Some reasons people choose not to follow BLW are: the misconception that babies cannot eat solid food,  the convenience of prepared commercial baby food, generally accepted mainstream guidance on baby rearing, or the lack of awareness of BLW. BLW can also be quite messy as some of the food babies will handle are a function of exploration rather than for consumption and therefore end up on the floor.