What is responsive feeding?

Responsive feeding is a two-way relationship between caregiver and baby – the baby communicates their feelings of hunger or fullness through their behaviour and the caregiver responds appropriately. Babies are born with a natural ability to feed and regulate their energy intake and will give signs to indicate when they are hungry and when they are full; however, some of these signs may be subtle and difficult to interpret.

When speaking to parents/caregivers, you have a role in explaining why responsive feeding may be important and helping them recognise the signs to look out for.

• If fed responsively for the first two years of life, infants should learn how to independently control how much they eat and recognise feelings of hunger and fullness
• Responsive feeding could be a protective factor against becoming overweight or obese later in life
• If hunger and fullness cues are ignored, this may override their natural ability to regulate how full or hungry they are
• Breastfeeding is a naturally responsive way of feeding, but responsive feeding is also possible when bottle-feeding.

Being overweight and obese in childhood is a timely and concerning issue:

• Nearly a quarter of UK children starting school are overweight or obese¹
• Evidence has shown that accelerated weight gain in the first two years of life, independent of birth weight, is associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity in childhood and later life.^2,3
• Parents and caregivers are influential in shaping children’s behaviours, including eating habits such as food preferences, consumption and even weight gain.⁴