The Benefits of Spoon Feeding and Why Reconsidering The Pouch Matters

While pouches can be a convenient option for on-the-go, those “in-between” moments, toddler snacktime and special medical cases, there is a growing body of research that suggests pouches can hinder healthy development of eating skills. Read on to find out why we think spooning first bites is best.

Eating from a Spoon

• Helps your baby learn to chew
• Encourages development of oral muscles required for speech and vital early verbal skills
• Allows your baby to learn important lifetime habits such as taking breaks between bites and stopping when full
• Allows your baby to progress to and experience more textured foods
• Encourages important interaction between you and your baby at mealtime
• Your baby experiences the sensory properties of food such as aroma, texture, color, and taste
• Learning to eat and self-feed contributes directly to motor skills and to the development of hand-mouth and hand-eye coordination
• Reduced risk of choking

Sucking from a Pouch

• Delays development of the natural chewing action and oral muscles
• Makes it difficult for your baby to control intake, increasing the risk of overeating
• Prevents the important progression towards more textured foods
• Reduces the important interaction between you and your baby at mealtime
• Pouches remove the multi-sensory experience as babies cannot see, touch, or smell food
• Increased risk of tooth decay due to constant exposure of sugar on the teeth
• Creates a choking hazard, as food can be sucked down into the lungs
• Limits your baby’s development of motor skills associated with spoon feeding

So, are pouches all bad? Not at all! Pouches can be a convenient option for older kids for snacktime, great for on-the-go mealtime for babies and helpful for children who suffer from things such as Sensory Processing Disorders and Texture Aversions. At the end of the day, as parents we’re all doing the best we can. Pouch and spoon aside, the thing that matters most is that our kids are eating in the first place! Check out our Babyblends to help you with spoon feeding or try our Smoothies today!

Additional resources about eating with a Spoon vs. Pouch:

Why You Should Stop Feeding Your Baby From Trendy Little Food Pouches – Huffington Post
Oh Baby: Squeezable Snacks Might Be Tough on Teeth – NPR.org
The Downsides of Baby Food Pouchs (And How to Use Them Right) – Parents.com
Why I Wouldn’t Recommend Baby Food Pouchs by Dr. Dina Kulik – Huffington Post
Baby Food Pouches: Are They Really Harmless? – SheKnows.com
Pitch the Pouch? Why You Might Want to Limit Pouch Feeding for Your Infant – Bundoo.com