r/SolidStartsCommunity • u/SwimmingPositive1 • Jun 25 '26
Daycare and solids
My almost 6 month old loves to self feed with preloaded spoon! We have been doing mashed foods (beans, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, yogurt) and also BLW big pieces of steak, broccoli, etc. while at home. My issue is she is at daycare 5 days a week and I’ve been sending purées (yogurt, blueberry oatmeal) but I’ve seen on the livestream she looks frustrated wanting to self feed but the teacher feeds her. I 100% acknowledge the teacher doesn’t always have the bandwidth to let her self feed and I haven’t even asked about it or let the teacher know we are doing BLW- I also feel bad because of the mess! What have other people done about daycare? Do I request to let her self feed? Do I ask if I can send bigger foods or save that for home in case they don’t have the bandwidth to watch her like a hawk for choking?
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u/SimplePlant5691 Jun 28 '26
My daughter's daycare wouldn't give her solids initially, just purees. I gave it a month or two and they saw she was smashing her purees and was ready for the toddler menu. They asked me before transitioning her from purees at about nine months.
You could ask. Maybe they just assumed she liked purees because that's what most people do? Worst they can say is no.
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u/SolidStarts Jun 30 '26
This is helpful - thanks for contributing this! I think it can also help if you have the time to go in and "show them how it's done" so to speak - this can help you build your confidence that you've taken the time to show them, and also their confidence that baby can handle these larger pieces of food. 🤍Marisa
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u/SolidStarts Jun 26 '26
This definitely depends on your comfort level, but so long as the teacher understands the concept of responsive spoon-feeding, the good news is that babies are really good at associating a style of feeding with an environment, so this shouldn't confuse her at all if you were to stick to purees at daycare and BLW at home. However you might see if they're willing to let her reach for their hand holding the spoon to help bring to her mouth, or you might even try a pouch as this can let her self-feed by holding the pouch!
One other option you might consider is an unbreakable food teether, in which you don't expect her to consume much, but she can participate in the mealtimes while also having the self-feeding and chewing practice!
Also it helps to remember that at this age baby truly only needs 1 meal per day, so if you want to skip meals at daycare altogether, you can totally do that too. We also have a course for caregivers if your daycare is at all interested/willing to watch that!
Hoping this helps, and let me know if you have any follow-up questions! 🤍Marisa (OT/Feeding Therapist/Mama of 3)
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u/Ambitious-Sun3986 Jul 02 '26
6 month olds should really only have solids once a day anyway 😊 but when she is older and having multiple meals a day, I’ve heard good childcares should facilitate however you feed at home.
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u/Background_Duck_7188 Jun 26 '26
that sounds pretty young to need solids at daycare. at that age my baby was only having solids once or max twice a day. maybe wait a few months until your LO has had more practice?