Equipment You Need (and Don't Need) for Weaning

The weaning equipment market has expanded dramatically in recent years, and a scroll through any baby retail website might leave you feeling that starting solids requires an entire kitchen refit and a dedicated budget. In reality, the essentials are modest. Here is an honest assessment of what you genuinely need, what is useful but optional, and what is mostly marketing.

The Highchair: The Most Important Investment

Of all weaning equipment, the highchair is the most genuinely important purchase. A good highchair:

• Positions your baby correctly for safe swallowing
• Keeps them close to the table for family meals
• Is easy to clean
• Adjusts to remain useful as your baby grows

What to look for in a highchair:

Footrest: This is non-negotiable for safety and comfort. A baby eating without foot support is like you trying to eat dinner whilst dangling your legs. Without a stable footrest, core engagement is reduced and the risk of leaning and falling forward increases. Many popular modern highchairs lack an adequate footrest — check before buying.

Upright positioning: The highchair should position your baby upright (not significantly reclined) for eating. Swallowing in a reclined position increases the risk of choking.

Adjustability: A highchair that grows with your baby — with adjustable seat height, footrest height, and table height — gives far better value than a fixed-position chair that is outgrown quickly.

Ease of cleaning: Highchair covers with too many creases, folds, or upholstered fabric are a cleaning nightmare. Hard plastic seats and simple trays wipe clean. Fabric inserts, whilst comfortable, tend to harbour food and are frequently inadequately washable. Think about cleaning before buying.

Stability: Ensure the highchair has a wide base and does not tip easily. Check weight limits if your baby is on the larger side.

Popular options in the UK: The Ikea Antilop remains one of the best-value, most practical highchairs available, with a removable plastic tray, easy cleaning, and the option to add a removable cushioned insert. Higher-end options (Stokke Tripp Trapp, Joie Mimzy, etc.) offer more adjustability and longevity but come at significantly higher cost.

What about booster seats? Booster seats that attach to adult chairs can work well from around 6 months if they position the baby correctly (upright, with foot support). They are compact and grow with the child but are generally less stable and more limiting than a dedicated highchair for early weaning.

Suction Bowls vs Regular Bowls

Suction bowls attach to highchair trays or flat surfaces via a suction base, preventing the bowl from being swept onto the floor during the exploratory, grabbing stage of early weaning.

Are they worth it? Yes, with caveats. A good suction bowl saves a significant amount of food from the floor during the 6–12 month stage when throwing objects is a favourite game. However:

• Quality varies enormously. Cheap suction bases lose their grip quickly. Invest in a reputable brand (Munchkin, EZPZ, Bumkins).
• EZPZ silicone mats are particularly well regarded — they double as a mat and divided plate, with an integral suction base that is difficult to remove.
• Suction bowls are not as necessary for pureed food offered from a spoon, where the bowl is primarily on the tray for a short period anyway. They become more valuable for self-feeding.
• A determined toddler will eventually defeat any suction bowl.

Regular bowls are fine for the early spoon-feeding stage. A set of inexpensive plastic or silicone bowls that can go in the dishwasher is entirely adequate.

Weaning Spoons

Pre-weaning spoons (soft, shallow, long-handled): Small, shallow, soft-tipped spoons are appropriate for the early days of weaning when you are offering from a spoon. The shallow profile means less food per spoonful, which reduces the risk of overloading a baby who is learning to manage food in their mouth.

Short-handled self-feeding spoons: Once your baby begins to show interest in self-feeding (typically 7–9 months onwards), short-handled spoons with a deep bowl that retains food are more practical. Spoons with a slight right-angle bend (like the NumNum pre-spoon) can help babies who are learning to dip and scoop.

How many? A set of 4–6 spoons is sufficient. They go in the dishwasher; you can use the same ones daily.

What to avoid? Very deep, steep-sided spoons that make it difficult to get the food off the spoon cleanly. Metal spoons for very young babies. Spoons with textures or embellishments that are difficult to clean thoroughly.

Bibs

The bib question is simple: you need a lot of them, and they need to be waterproof (or at least wipeable) rather than fabric.

Silicone roll-collar bibs are widely considered the best option for weaning. They have a deep front pocket that catches falling food, the material wipes clean in seconds, and they can be rinsed and reused. Brands like EZPZ, Mushie, and Happy Mat are popular. Expect to pay £5–£15 each; cheaper versions often have shallower pockets or stiffer material that babies find uncomfortable.

Fabric bibs with waterproof backing are fine for the early spoon-feeding stage when quantities are small. For self-feeding and messier stages, they are inadequate — food soaks through to the clothing beneath.

Long-sleeved bibs ("pelican bibs"): Full-coverage long-sleeved bibs that cover the arms and front are brilliant for particularly messy stages, especially for thick purees and saucy food. They are more effort to put on and take off but can spare multiple outfit changes a day.

How many? At least 5–6 silicone bibs. You will use 2–3 per day during active weaning.

Splash Mats

A splash mat is placed under the highchair to catch the considerable amount of food, drink, and liquid that ends up on the floor during weaning.

Are they worth it? If you have carpet under or near your dining area, yes, absolutely. Silicone mats or wipe-clean fabric mats protect the floor and make clearing up after meals much faster.

If you have hard flooring that mops or wipes easily, a splash mat is less essential — though it can still save time by consolidating the mess in one area.

Look for a mat large enough to extend beyond the footprint of the highchair on all sides (a minimum of 120x90cm is sensible). Simple silicone or wipe-clean fabric options are available from around £10–£30.

What You Do Not Need

Dedicated baby food blenders: A standard hand blender or food processor is entirely adequate for making smooth purees. Special baby food blenders offer no meaningful advantage over equipment you may already own.

Portion pots: Small plastic pots for freezing homemade food are useful, but you can use standard ice cube trays or small freezer-safe containers. Branded baby portion pots are identical in function to generic alternatives at a fraction of the cost.

Food processors designed specifically for baby food: See above. A hand blender costs £15–£20 and does the same job.

Heated bowls: Bowls that maintain food temperature through a water reservoir are occasionally useful but entirely unnecessary. Warm food quickly, and your baby's meal will be at an appropriate temperature without any special equipment.

Complete "weaning systems": Bundled product sets that include everything from a starter spoon to multiple bowl sizes and accessories. These look appealing but often include items you will never use. Buy only what you will genuinely need.