ABSTRACT

Respecting individual variability, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life ensures not only optimal growth but also development and health. After this age, breastfeeding, continued until the age of 2 years or more, and in any case until mother and child so desire, with the addition of adequate complementary foods, continues to contribute to the growth, development and health of the infant . Breast milk (or milk formulated in case the mother does not want or can not breastfeed) must remain the primary nutrient matrix for the first year of life; during the second year, family foods will gradually become the first source of nutrients.
Weaning is that delicate moment in the life of a child in which the milk begins to be replaced with the first liquid baby food. It is an event that is discussed a lot for the problems that emerge during this phase because often the child does not immediately accept the changes.
There is lack of information on a particular type of weaning called self-weaning or weaning guided by the child, a very innovative technique emerged recently, which consists in autonomous childfeeding with shredded or whole foods using his hands without necessarily having to pass before for baby food.
This practice was born in the United Kingdom and the United States as „baby led weaning“, responding to the need of many parents to solve problems related to their children's unwillingness to switch from an exclusively milky diet to the first meals.