Self weaning, but what is it?
In recent years, we often hear about self-weaning and there is no shortage of experts and publications that shed light on the subject. Yet, there is still little information and clarity among families, although the scientific community has long accepted the validity of this practice; for this reason, when the child is 6 months old, the habit of proceeding with weaning following the classic standardized table remains widespread. A type of approach which, according to the opinion of the supporters of self-weaning, transforms this delicate developmental phase into a process imposed and regulated from the outside, which limits the child's initiative, the natural attraction towards what mum and dad eat, the desire to taste and the ability to choose.
Hence the 'shocking advice' of some paediatricians: «Let the child wean himself during his parents' meals, asking for and obtaining small samples of all courses», as Dr. Lucio Piermarini, pediatrician and author of the volume 'I wean myself! Dialoghi sull'vezzamento' (Bonomi, 2009), as well as contributor to Uppa – Un Pediatra per Friend (www.uppa.it), a bimonthly magazine for parents edited by paediatricians and childhood specialists.
WHAT EXACTLY DOES WE MEAN BY SELF-WELNING?
The term self-weaning is the simplified and imprecise – albeit effective – translation of a certainly more pertinent expression: complementary feeding on request, or an approach – based on strictly scientific bases – according to which the introduction of solid foods into the child's diet takes place not starting from a table but according to its specific and variable requests, without prejudice to the common sense of parents in offering only healthy foods. But how should such a transition take place? For supporters of complementary feeding on demand, this change must be a spontaneous event for the child, the result of the extension of his sphere of interests beyond simple sucking and his new ability to self-regulate. It is a question of a real revolution – and as it has been defined on several occasions: for the first time at the center of the process is the child, who, just like in breastfeeding on demand – which is by now a consolidated practice because it gives the best results – it guides the parents and autonomously expresses food curiosities, desires and needs.
THE INTRODUCTION
According to Lucio Piermarini and the Uppa specialists, the starting points for choosing complementary feeding on request for your child are the quality of the relationship between parents and child - including greater attention to his behavior - and the related preparation for the topic: "The complementary feeding on request should be understood as the culmination of a training course that involves both the family and the pediatrician". For this reason it is very ineffective to talk about it to a parent for the first time when the child is now close to 6 months: «It takes adequate preparation which must start much earlier; the question should already be addressed during birth support courses, offering scientific bases so that parents can understand little by little what it is about». Courses in which to clarify how it works in practice, find out what the advantages are and dispel the most common concerns about self-weaning.
ARE YOU READY TO SELF-WELCOME?
Up to 6 months, milk, preferably maternal, ensures the baby all the nutrients it needs. Subsequently, according to the WHO guidelines, it is advisable to start integrating the infant's diet with the first solid foods, since milk alone is no longer sufficient. Generally, it is precisely in this phase - a week more, a week less - that the child shows the first signs of interest in what happens at the table, therefore in the act of eating and the food itself, but even earlier in the behaviors of parents.
«The nods of the baby are quite typical and an informed mother recognizes them, exactly as happens with breastfeeding - continues Dr. Piermarini - she starts pointing her finger at what she sees on the table and insistently observes what they do mum and dad. From the beginning, in fact, his interest is in his parents, not in food, which he doesn't know yet, and the child tries to emulate them in everything, even at the table. Then there are some specific skills that he must have achieved: motor skills sufficient to sit up by himself, lean forward and bring his hand to his mouth; ability to chew and swallow to ingest without risk; intellectual maturity and curiosity about the surrounding environment». The prerequisite is that the child is already used to being at the table with mum and dad, because lunch is an important moment of sharing for the family. Thus it happens that, little by little, his interests change and the little one asks for the first tastes, to soon discover that what he gets offers him the same type of satisfaction guaranteed so far by milk. «Every healthy child naturally acquires all these skills, but in a variable way and with variable times. Maybe he's very curious and asks, but spits when his mom offers him a taste, he doesn't know how to chew yet; then they wait a few weeks and try again». It will soon be ready in all respects.
THE ADVANTAGES
The first advantage of self-weaning concerns the health of the whole family : those who choose complementary feeding on request know that the baby will approach food through what mum and dad eat, therefore the family will have modified/improved its diet in time to make it more balanced and valid also for the little one. The second advantage derives directly from the basic assumptions of complementary feeding on request, or rather from the fact that «the child can manage himself and that his appetite, as a primary instinct, is always sufficient», as Piermarini explains again. 
«Hence the possibility for parents to stop one of their most widespread worries, i.e. that their child has no appetite and does not eat enough, and to become more resistant to the temptation to offer him almost anything as long as he eats (today, on the contrary, the the main concern should be that the child eats too much, for example by exceeding the consumption of sweets and fats, ed). Receiving the parents' trust at the table, the child acquires greater serenity in his relationship with food, a serenity that spreads to all other areas». The emotional and pedagogical relationship with the parents also benefits, the reduction of conflicts during meals, the saving of time and money for the preparation of the same, not to mention the preventive effect on the problem of obesity, although they are not Sufficiently exhaustive studies have not yet been conducted in this field, at least in Italy. Finally, there is no risk of developing allergies : «Scientific studies have long since denied the usefulness of delaying the introduction of certain foods, as instead suggested by some weaning tables; on the contrary, it has been shown that early introduction (but on average always after 6 months) helps to develop greater tolerance. At this age, the risk of allergies is generally absent.
By Sara Lanfranchini (taken from Birth of a Mother | Winter 2017)