Weaning and pre-chewing

In this episode, Greg Dickens and I discuss recent news on obstructive sleep apnea and on grandparent-provided screen time. We then talk about premastication - what it is, how it’s done, and how it stacks up against spoon-fed weaning and baby-led weaning practises. We talk about how you can do it yourself, and how to help structure the food environment if your child is older. Finally, we discuss whether or not ‘teaching’ a baby to do certain movements is bad for their long-term physical health.

* Topics covered

* How obstructive sleep apnea is influenced by the microbiome [01:09]

* What grandparent-provided screen time looks like [07:00]

* Why babies need ‘processed’ food when they start to eat solid food [11:52]

* When and how to incorporate premastication during weaning [31:01]

* How to set up a better food environment in older picky eaters [33:38]

* Whether ‘teaching’ certain movements is bad for babies [39:16]

What topics should we cover next?

Resources mentioned in this podcast

* Sleep apnea’s links to the microbiome: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945725001546

* Grandparents and screen time: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17482798.2025.2480088

* Distinct oral microbiomes in mothers and infants in a traditional culture: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5101600/

* Good and bad effects of Helicobacter pylori: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1586/egh.11.69#d1e126 (quick Google Scholar search will turn up a whole load more)

* Many more references in my article on premastication below

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