There are books, baby groups and online courses that will guide you through baby weaning.
Here’s why I think that online courses are your best option, and why Happy Healthy Weaning in particular is THE best course on there.
1. You can do it at your own pace in your own time.
So for example, when your baby is napping or during the middle of the night when you’re up doing night feeds. The lessons are short so perfect if you are running on borrowed time!
2. You can do it from home, in your pyjamas without having to leave the house.
There’s no travelling, spending ages trying to find a parking space, lugging the pram out of the boot of your car, juggling with the changing bag, packing toys, blankets, dummies, bottles, sun cream, woolly hats…need I go on?
3. It appeals to your own individual learning style.
Or at least Happy Healthy Weaning does because we’ve provided video lessons, downloadable planners, checklists and printable documents, as well as some practical sessions for you to do at home.
You’ll also have regular access to me right up until your baby’s first birthday. In a traditional group weaning course, you will likely have a lecture style talk and only have access to the teacher for the couple of hours that you’re there.
4. You’ll be taught by an expert.
The NHS weaning courses are delivered by Health Visitors or their assistants. As amazing as HV’s are, they’re not nutrition professionals, nor do they have expertise in feeding. I’m both a Consultant Registered Dietitian (the highest level of nutrition professional) and an Advanced SOS Feeding Therapist, which means you get my expertise in both the WHAT to feed as well as the HOW to feed part.
There are plenty of weaning books out there too, but most are written by people who aren’t Registered Dietitians, and to be honest, they’re mainly just recipes! You can get plenty of those free of charge just about anywhere online.
5. You’ll learn more online.
Yes that’s correct! A study carried out by IBM found that people who participate in online courses learned more than those who attended traditional taught courses. It’s thought that this is because you are in total control over your own learning, being able to rewind and revisit sections or move faster through areas of the course you already feel confident with.
6. It will save you time.
Online courses will save you time in the long run. You will be able to get answers to your questions straight away. You’ll be able to revisit the content if you’ve forgotten something.
In a traditional weaning group, you’d have to go to the baby clinic to ask or phone your health visitor and leave a message before you get your question answered.
And with a book, you’re flicking back and forth, trying to find where you might have read something. Who’s got time for that?
7. They’re environmentally friendly.
Because there’s no travelling involved, you don’t need to get in the car, train or bus. A study by the Open University found that students who take online courses versus those who attended face to face courses, consumed an average of 90% less energy and produced 85% fewer CO2 emissions. Also, no trees were chopped down in the production of this online course!
8. They’re more comprehensive.
My ‘How to Wean your Baby’ course has been carefully constructed and refined over the years so that you get a really comprehensive course without information overload.
When you compare this to in-person weaning workshops, you get so much more. It’s really difficult to fit everything into a 1 or 2-hour workshop. Believe me, I know. Before the Covid pandemic, I’d been teaching these to baby groups for 21 years.
9. You’ll be able to concentrate.
Face to face workshops also requires your baby to be either sleeping or 100% content and not needing you to entertain them in order for you to be able to participate fully and take everything in. That’s why the Mum’s I’ve taught believe my Happy Healthy Weaning is invaluable.
10. It cuts through the nonsense.
There’s so much conflicting information available online. So many of the Mums who’ve gone through my course already said they came to me because they found the world of weaning totally confusing.
I agree.
Much of the advice is delivered by non-nutrition professionals. And many of the practical tips around feeding are given by people who aren’t experts in feeding!
So as you can see there is such a huge benefit from learning online, direct from an expert. You can join Happy Healthy Weaning here.
