Finger Foods for Baby (2024)

FAQs

Finger Foods for Baby? ›

Pieces of ripe banana, well-cooked pasta, and small pieces of chicken are other good choices. Before giving your child a finger food, try a bite first and ask yourself: Does it melt in the mouth? Some dry cereals and crackers that are light and flaky will melt in the mouth.

You can offer a range of small, finger-sized pieces of food. Some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others combine a bit of both. There's no right or wrong way – the most important thing is that your baby eats a wide variety of food and gets all the nutrients they need.

Self-feeding takes a lot of eye-hand coordination, and that's an ability your baby is still developing. At around 8-10 months — When babies develop their pincer grasp start cutting foods into small pieces, about chickpea-sized. And for small round foods like chickpeas or blueberries, smash them lightly before serving.

Don't worry if your baby won't eat finger foods at first. If they seem to be struggling to feed themself, they may just not be ready yet, in which case give it a week or so before trying again. Or they may need more time to get used to new textures.

Baby-Led Weaning Basics

The basic idea is to skip purées, mashed-up fruit and rice cereal and let babies feed themselves right from the start at about 6 months of age. They sit in a highchair with a spread of finger foods from the family meal, then attempt to transfer the food to their mouths all by themselves.

You can give your baby the entire egg (yolk and white), if your pediatrician recommends it. Around 6 months, puree or mash one hard-boiled or scrambled egg and serve it to your baby. For a more liquid consistency, add breast milk or water. Around 8 months, scrambled egg pieces are a fantastic finger food.

Some examples include small pieces of banana, wafer-type cookies or crackers; scrambled eggs; well-cooked pasta; well-cooked, finely chopped chicken; and well-cooked, cut-up potatoes or peas. At each of your baby's daily meals, they should be eating about 4 ounces, or the amount in one small jar of strained baby food.

You'll know your baby is ready to graduate from spoon-feeding to finger foods when they've developed a strong pincer grasp (or that pinching grip between the index finger and thumb—think of the motion you use to pick off the booger they've smeared onto your sleeve).

“Babies don't need teeth to learn to eat solids and learn to chew,” McCormack says. Those strong little gums are perfectly capable of mashing up soft solids—if you've ever let baby teethe on your finger, then you have some idea of just how powerful they are!

Can my baby choke on finger food? ›

It's important that finger foods are cut up into pieces big enough for your baby to hold in their hand with a bit sticking out. As a rule of thumb, the pieces should be around the size of your finger. This reduces the risk of choking.

By the time they're 9 months old, most babies have developed the fine motor skills — the small, precise movements — needed to pick up small pieces of food and feed themselves. You may notice that yours can take hold of food (and other small objects) between forefinger and thumb in a pincer grasp.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends meat as a first food because it's such a great source of protein, zinc, and iron, especially red meat and dark poultry meat. Plus, babies absorb iron more easily from meat than from iron-fortified cereals, another common first food.

Your baby has a small stomach and needs to be eating small amounts of soft nutritious food frequently throughout the day. In addition to grains and tubers, feed your baby a variety of foods – especially animal foods (dairy, eggs, meat, fish and poultry), fruits and vegetables – every day.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend children be introduced to foods other than breast milk or infant formula when they are about 6 months old. Introducing foods before 4 months old is not recommended. Every child is different.

Stage 3 (typically 10-12 months old, but may occur sooner): At this stage, you can slowly replace purees with soft, chewable chunks of food, and offer your baby more finger foods that they can pick up and feed themselves.

Around age 5 or 6, many children start primarily eating with utensils instead of their hands. Up until this point, parents should offer utensils and model how to use them, but know that kids may default to eating with their hands because oftentimes it is easier.

Puréed foods are completely smooth, making them easier to swallow and digest than solid foods. This is the main benefit of a puréed diet. As such, healthcare professionals often recommend a puréed diet for people who have medical conditions that make it difficult for them to swallow solid foods safely.