Once your little one discovers he can get food into his mouth, it's likely time to break out the Cheerios and other tasty bite-sized finger foods. Get ideas on what to feed your adorable eater with this go-to guide.
When can you give babies finger foods?
Whether you introduce new foods to your baby through purees or have chosen to adopt the baby-led weaning approach (offering gummable foods in long, thick pieces), your baby will probably be ready to start solids between 4 and 6 months. At around 7 or 8 months, your baby can start self-feeding with some assistance, and his mealtime skills will continue to improve once he masters the pincer grasp between months 9 to 12.
Of course, always get the green light from your child's pediatrician before introducing solids and finger foods.
Best finger foods for babies
What are the best finger foods to hand over to your baby? Look for a consistency that can be gummed before swallowing or that will dissolve easily in the mouth — no chewing should be necessary at this early stage (whether or not your little one has been visited by the tooth fairy).
If you've already introduced solids in the form of purees (as opposed to baby-led weaning), start offering finger foods that have been well-received in pureed form, serving them up in manageable cubes or chunks — pea-size for firmer items, marble-size for softer foods. At first, serve foods with softer textures (such as overripe bananas, ripe avocados or steamed carrots), and eventually build up the texture.
Read on for plenty of tasty-yet-safe finger food suggestions.
Bread or crackers
Even babies who can't pick things up with their fingers can hold a biscuit or a piece of lightly toasted bread in their hands and suck on it until it dissolves into a gooey mess. The trick is finding breads and crackers that turn mushy (not lumpy) in his mouth and are easier to swallow.
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Later on, when he's a pro at the pincer grasp, you can put small pieces of lightly toasted bread on his high-chair tray. And just to save yourself some trouble when he becomes a pickier toddler, get him used to whole grains right from the start.
Oat circle cereal
There's a reason why every mom has a box of Cheerios in her pantry (and a baggie of them in her purse) — they're the perfect size and texture for little fingers and tender gums to practice on. But you can also think outside the circle and serve your baby wheat or rice puffs, too.
Another bonus: Your baby will be so busy working on her new skill ("Look at me eating all by myself!") that you'll probably be able to sit and enjoy a bowl of cereal yourself. Cereals to skip for now include honey-flavored ones — babies under one shouldn't have honey, even when it's baked into something.
Cheese
Kid-friendly, protein-packed, loaded with calcium and other bone-building minerals — what's not to love about cheese? Start your baby off with a mild-tasting, pasteurized variety, like mozzarella or a non-sharp cheddar, either shredded or sliced thinly. (Children should not have unpasteurized cheese.)
When he's used to the taste and texture, you can broaden his range by including havarti and Swiss and serving up kid faves like bits of grilled cheese and quesadillas.
But shun soft cheese like brie or feta — they can contain listeria, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning — for now, and stay away from string cheese and cheese sticks unless you cut or break it up into smaller pieces. Otherwise, he could bite off more than he can gum.
Fruit
Turn your baby into a fruit fiend by giving her squished blueberries or small pieces of soft fruits like banana or very ripe, peeled and skinned pear. (To make it easier to pick up slippery banana pieces, try dusting them in crushed Cheerios first.) Ripe mangoes, peaches, apricots, kiwis, honeydew and cantaloupe are also likely to appeal to your baby's sweet tooth (or gums), but make sure to take off any skin first.
Not all fruit is baby-friendly, though. Avoid pieces of raw apple, even without the skin, for now. Ditto any other harder-textured or unripe fruit that could get stuck in the windpipe.
Veggies
Once your baby's started solid foods, just about any vegetable can be baby-proofed by cooking it until it's very tender. Merely cut away the stalks, and broccoli and cauliflower florets can be turned into teeny-tiny trees for your little one's culinary amusement.
Very small pieces of sweet potatoes, carrots, peas (cut in half or crushed) and butternut squash make sweet sides for your sweetie when cooked until soft — and they're loaded with beta-carotene and other nutrients. Avocados are another treat — and packed with good fats to build up little brains and bodies.
Vegetables to skip for now include anything stringy and raw (like celery), hard (like raw carrots) or easy to choke on (like grape tomatoes).
Fish
Fish is the almost-perfect food. It's packed with protein, calcium and iron, and loaded with heart-healthy omega-3s. Studies show it can boost brain power, too.
Serve up flakes of firm, white-fleshed fish like cod, sole or flounder — baked, poached or broiled — and let your baby dive in. These fish are easier to digest and lowest in mercury. Avoid higher-mercury ones like swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark. Remember shellfish is a common allergen, so consult the pediatrician before introducing shrimp, crab or lobster.
With all fish, though, you have to be extra-vigilant about going through the pieces to search for and remove any bones. But it's worth it!
Meatballs
Your baby's not ready for steak yet, but you can up his iron intake by giving him soft meatballs made from hamburger or ground turkey.
To make sure they're not overly crusty and firm for your baby's tender mouth, cook them in a sauce or soup instead of frying them solo. Then cut the meatballs into very small pieces, put a few on the tray and let the fun begin.
Just remember not to overwhelm your little carnivore with too much food, and keep a close eye on him. He may be tempted to stuff it all in his mouth at once — or test the laws of gravity and send the pile to the floor.
Tofu
You may have heard otherwise, but research shows soy has no hormonal effects on babies. And banning tofu from your baby's diet would be a mistake — it's packed with iron, protein and calcium, and it's rich in fiber too.
To make it easier for little fingers to pick up (and for you to cube quickly), serve the extra-firm kind. If your baby's not bowled over because of soy's blandness, cook some cubes in soup to make it tastier.
A few things to watch out for: Because soy can cause food allergies, wait three or four days before you introduce the next new food to gauge your baby's reaction.
Pasta
It'll be years before your baby can twirl spaghetti on a fork, but start her on the path by dishing out the pasta. Opt for healthy, whole-grain varieties so she develops a taste for it, but be sure to cook it a little longer than you would regular pasta, because it tends to be firmer.
Almost any shape is baby-friendly as long as you cut it into small bites. Wheels, shells and bow ties may have special appeal and be easier to handle. If your baby's nuts about cheese, dust a little Parmesan on the pasta for a calcium-boost, or serve her some mac and cheese.
Little meat-eaters will enjoy pieces of meat ravioli — with or without sauce (or you can stick to cheese ravioli if she prefers).
Egg yolks
You may have heard that you should avoid feeding babies allergenic foods — including eggs — during the first year. But the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends introducing allergenic foods early, between 4 and 11 months, to prevent food allergies.[1] And that’s a good thing, since eggs are packed with healthy protein and several essential nutrients.
Once the doctor gives you the okay to introduce eggs, the easiest way to slip some into your baby's diet is to hard-boil them, then cut up the yolks into little slivers. Soft scrambled eggs make for a good finger food, too.
French toast
Oh la la! What could be a more delicious way to start the day than to eat a few soft cubes of French toast? Make it baby-friendlier by using whole-wheat bread and skipping the syrup. But you can sprinkle a little cinnamon on top (there's no reason to skimp on spices for your baby's sake), and serve it with cut-up blueberries or melon for added sweetness.
Other breakfast (or anytime) options: pancakes — especially the multigrain variety — and waffles, as long as they're offered to your little one in small, soft pieces.
Baby choking hazards to avoid
When it comes to feeding your baby solid food, the biggest issue is to avoid choking hazards. So don't let him eat anything unless he's strapped in his high chair and you're sticking close by the whole time.
Always nix any food that could get stuck in your baby's windpipe, including:[2]
- Popcorn
- Nuts
- Raisins
- Raw veggies (including baby carrots)
- Grapes
- Pitted cherries
- Hard fruit
- Hot dogs
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