You mean that that some people don't do this with their babies?

Isn't this just common sense? You comment about the Watties/Plunket marketing con (and they are only one of many out there) but someone writing a book about something mothers and babies have been doing since humans began eating is almost as bad. Why is it that mothers have lost the ability to follow their instincts? It is only one or possibly two generations ago (depending on your age - LOL!) that we have the lost the abiilty to cut up and cook our own homegrown veges, and place them in front of child, in format that child can eat. Grrr, this whole 'new' concept about child rearing, which quite frankly is only going back to what has always been done, mostly very successfully, really grates on me. I rarely purchased premade food in the supermarket - the cost was the primary motivator to avoid doing this. And I turned my nose up at 'organic no-additives etc etc etc prepackaged food' (even tho a friend owns the particular company that makes this product). Isn't a pumpkin from the vege garden organic, no additives etc. At about 10% of the price??? Get thee a vegetable, a knife, a pot and a dob of butter!!

Couldn't agree more. Our children pretty much ate what we did, apart from anything overly spicy. We did buy some baby food in case of emergency, but when we tried to give it too them they spat it out in disgust. If a healthy hungry boy won't eat it, there must be something wrong.

BLW is the easiest thing in the world - no cooking, no mashing, no spooning pulp into icecube trays, no defrosting, no reheating and no sitting there for ages trying to spoon the stuff into unwilling mouths! The only drawback was that you did need to put a plastic sheet under their highchairs and have them appropriately clothed as food would often end up on them and the floor. And yes, they all learnt table manners and how to use utensils.

Totally agree! BLW has been great for our little girl - I can't stand seeing babies just sitting there waiting for the next mouthful to just come their way, with their hands hanging by their sides. It is so passive, whereas BLW is 'hands on' and from my point of view sucking and chewing at a piece of carrot or steak etc is preferable to her sucking something else, like a plastic toy! I am sure it has developed her fine motor skills faster than normal. Now she is nearly 17 months and I think eats a wide range of food. Still has her likes and dislikes, and when she is tired needs some encouragement, but overall I think it has been great. I think I would have gone crazy making purees etc and trying to force feed...

BTW Gill Rapley's name should have an 'e' in it...

All well and good (my kids were feed with chunks of food as well, based on good advice from Plunket), but if they're eating the food you're eating make sure you hold the SALT. Salt can kill a babe - beware manufactured adult cereals etc. Maybe a do and don't list for feeding in in order if you're going to advocate this.

Didn't know about BLW when my babies were on solids, but we didn't bother with buying baby food either. I'd mash or puree (stick blender was great) a little bit of what was going onto our plates. Neither did I need to coax or cajole the baby either - he let me know very clearly when the spoon wasn't going into his mouth fast enough, and would gently push it away when he was full.

Capitalistic back-scratching? With that capitalistic icon called Plunket? Once again your doctrinaire views colour your bland and derivative blog-still at least we can rest secure in the knowledge that the banner of originality is being proudly borne by you.

I agree with #1, I don't have babies (yet!) so have never really thought about anyone doing otherwise, but have my incredulous face on after reading this...

It would have never crossed my mind to do otherwise!