Baby-led weaning bypasses introducing solids to babies by jumping straight to finger foods that a baby can self-feed in comparison to smooth, pureed foods that are usually fed from parent to baby. Baby-led weaning is said to build confidence in babies recognising their hunger and appetite levels when learning to feed themselves and possibly reducing fussiness around food choices. It is a messy practice, however, feeding babies, in general, comes with a little mess - it's inevitable!    Spoon feeding on the other hand, as it sounds - is a baby being fed purees and smooth age-appropriate foods by spoon without the baby self-feeding. Spoon feeding doesn’t allow babies to learn to self-regulate food intake, they are more likely to eat more when being spoon-fed as the decision or recognition is involuntary. There are fewer safety concerns around potential choking as the parent is in control of the feeding process and often is closely monitoring their baby eating throughout the meal process.   Whichever choice parents choose to practice there are advantages to both, and they don’t need to be exclusively practised. You can introduce finger foods while still spoon-feeding, this offers the baby a baby-led weaning approach during the comfort of spoon-feeding. It is entirely up to parents which is more comfortable for all involved.