There are more and more baby and kids foods in squeezable plastic bags in shops – and food companies market them as fun and easy way to get nutritious food into even the fussiest eaters. They are convenient when times are busy.
But all food pouches store-bought or home filled, while less messy, can limit learning and developmental opportunities for babies.
They may also increase risk of tooth decay from the types of food in pouches and the sucking style of feeding.
We know for babies and children touching, chewing and eating food plays a vital role in their oral and motor skill development. Chewing food helps make the jaw muscles strong for talking and eating. Only babies around six months old need soft and smooth textured foods. Most babies do not need pureed food from about seven months old. Babies can move to minced and mashed food and cut up food between the ages of six and 12 months old. Some families choose to follow a Baby Led Weaning style of feeding and miss the puree step. Read more about Baby Led Weaning
The 'messy' stage of eating is important. It’s when they learn how to self-feed using fingers and spoons. Exploring food by touching, smelling and chewing food helps your baby learn about the tastes and textures of different foods. Give your older baby the chance to try a variety lumpy and mashed food as well as cut up finger foods. It can take many tries before your baby will eat a new food so try not fuss too much, just try another day.
It’s worth remembering not to worry too much about how much your baby is eating. The first 12 months is mostly about learning to eat. For the first 12 months breast milk or an infant formula provides most of their nutrition.
Meal times are important for social development too. Family mealtime is when children learn about food and eating. Sitting together and sharing the same food helps this. Read more about family meal times
Some of our concerns
Many store-bought food pouches are fruit based. Some food pouches contain fruit juice not whole fruit puree. We know eating fruit is a better choice. Many savoury meal pouches contain only small amounts of meat or vegetables with added fruit puree or juice to give sweetness.
Developing a taste for just a few favourite commercial baby foods does not help as they move into the toddler years.
It’s also worth noting single-use pouches create a lot of extra plastic packaging that often can’t be recycled.
And store-bought food pouches and jars of food can be an expensive way to feed your baby and toddler.
Take home message
If you do use pouches:
- try pouring the contents out when you can – older babies can start using a spoon rather than sucking
- give your baby opportunities to self feed and get messy with food at most meal times
- use them just sometimes to help manage those busy times.