Sue, mum to 5 month old James, is ready to start feeding
her son solids but isn’t sure whether to start with homemade baby food or
commercial jars…
“I’m really excited about starting James on solids, he seems ready, and I can’t wait to start trying different foods with him and start weaning him but I’m not sure whether to buy the jars of commercial food or if I should be making my own. As a working parent I’m pretty stretched and the thought of spending hours cooking and blending vegetables doesn’t appeal. I’ve heard that baby food in a jar is fine – back when I was a baby nobody made their own food, it was all jars and I turned out just fine.
I have friends who are horrified at the thought that I’d consider buying commercial baby food but can it really be that bad? Surely if it was bad for babies they wouldn’t sell it? I feel like the only parent who isn’t crazy about the idea of spending my days chained to the blender! I’m planning to supplement with finger food as soon as James is ready so he’ll get plenty of fresh stuff that way and obviously as soon as he is old enough he’ll just eat whatever we’re eating. Obviously I want James to be healthy and if the jar stuff is really that bad I’ll make my own but if there’s any way I can get by without having to I would prefer that.
I would just love to hear what other mums have done – am I a slacker for wanting to take the less time consuming option? What were the reasons other mums chose to make their own food?”
A quick survey of our mums shows that Sue is not the only mum who would prefer not to be a slave to her food processor! Of the estimated 30% of mums who used commercial baby food, all but two cited time saving as the main factor in their decision. Other factors included easy access to a range of organic food options for their baby and reluctance to spend time cooking food that they weren’t sure their baby would eat.
Mothers who fed their babies exclusively on homemade purees did so mostly for cost and quality reasons, as well as the reassurance that came with knowing exactly what their baby was eating. For some it wasn’t a matter of choice, with around 75% of parents stating their child preferred the taste of the homemade baby food over jars.
Baby feeding doesn’t have to be an either/or decision, as our survey results show. The vast majority of mums chose to combine making their own baby food with using jars for added convenience, particularly useful on those days when you just don’t have the energy to cook!
Here is some advice from other mums:
“Make all your food in one big batch and freeze it in ice cube trays – use latex style trays so they are easy to remove,” – Kristy, Norfolk
“It’s messy and can be frustrating so try to keep your sense of humour when your lovely home cooked meals end up all over the floor,” – Rebecca, Southampton