Making food and weaning a social experience

Food is a strong social glue, and eating together as a family or in the company of friends is associated with healthier eating and an adventurous attitude towards food. Food can be fun and eating together and sharing creates a positive experience from a young age.

Here, psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin, who’s working with Organix on their babies who lunch campaign, explains why it’s good for weaning to be a shared and social experience …

It’s good for little ones to eat with other little ones

Eating together is one of the most important social skills we teach children – weaning is primarily about introducing a variety of foods but learning to sit and eat with others is also important and it’s great fun.

Children learn by watching others, so it’s a good idea to create lots of opportunities for learning and imitating other people.

Peer influence – watching peers will make it more likely that your child will try new food or behave in a different way – you’ll be surprised by what they will try out, which they wouldn’t at home!

It’s good to sit down to eat with your little one, and to eat as a family, and try food together:

It shows your baby that they’re important and that eating and mealtimes are important.

As your baby eats they learn about a whole new world of sensory and social experiences and they’ll be more relaxed with mum or dad by their side and so more likely to try new foods.

If you have a bit of a wriggler it will be even more beneficial to sit with them, chat and have a little fun while they eat.

It’s good to wean together and share experiences with other parents:

Talking, chatting, laughing and trying new foods in a social environment turns weaning into a really positive experience for parents and makes it an exciting and fun time for little ones too.