The debate and the struggle is real. Pouch or no pouch? Among therapists in the field of providing early intervention services, we are split in our opinions. While most therapists agree that pouches offer the convenience of nutrition in our very busy lives, especially for those “picky eaters”, they should not be used 100% of the time as a way for our children to eat. Why? There are a few reasons.
#1. Sucking puree foods through a pouch decreases opportunities for your baby to learn to feed themselves with utensils-which is a life skill. You can always squeeze it out into a bowl or on the highchair tray to use a spoon!
#2. This will also decrease time babies have to explore their foods with their hands(tactile sense or sense of touch) which will eventually go to their mouth innately(hand to mouth connection important for self-feeding). Babies need to get messy so they can more easily accept different textures as they grow, without(or at least with less) anxiety.
#3. Sucking through an opening(like a straw) is important for oral motor awareness, however, babies also need to learn to chew. This chewing pattern needs to be practiced and mature so they can begin to accept solid foods.
#4. Babies and toddlers are visual eaters. When children don’t see colors of foods early on, this can lead to “picky eating” due to visual aversiveness. For example, they won’t eat anything green(fruits and veggies). Their diets may become bland. Meaning, the foods they eat are only shades of beige(crackers, dry cereal, cheese, plain noodles, etc).
All of these milestones need to occur so their mouths are ready for speech as well! Babies need to explore different objects(including their own fingers)orally to develop awareness and range of motion to produce a variety of speech sounds. They are also teething during this time. Sometimes a spoon can also be a good object to chew on to relieve some pain!
Again, there are absolutely some circumstances that using a pouch is a great solution. However, if you find that your baby is beginning to refuse to eat unless it’s from a pouch, it’s time to decrease that option and/or consult a professional feeding therapist.