Baby Self-Feeding Study

Weaning is an important developmental milestone. It’s an exciting time for parents and babies, if sometimes a bit messy! We are interested in how babies’ motor skills improve as they learn to use spoons to feed themselves, and we are exploring how different types of utensils influence the development of these skills.

In this fun, exploratory study, we will give your baby the chance to try out some weaning spoons at the UCD Babylab. We will use cameras to record them while they do so. We will then give you some spoons to take home and try out for the week, and invite you back about a week later so we can record your baby’s self-feeding again - and see how they have improved! The sessions are short, baby-led, and designed to be enjoyable.

We are inviting parents and caregivers who are thinking about weaning their babies to take part. We are looking specifically for babies aged 6 months (give or take 2 weeks), who will not have had more than 2 weeks of weaning experience before coming to the Babylab.

If you are interested in taking part, please fill in this form.

If your baby is not yet at the right age for the study, you can still register your interest in taking part.