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Baby Finger Food Recipes
Try these finger food tips and recipes as you teach your baby to feed himself
by: Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers
In This Article
Best Baby Finger Foods
- Introduce finger foods at 8 or 9 months and do it one at a time, slowly adding new ones for your baby to try.
- Start with finger foods your baby likes in puréed form before introducing new tastes.
- Finger foods should be soft enough for your child to gum.
- A few raw finger foods to try include banana, avocado and grated cheese.
- Finger foods such as apple slices or asparagus spears should be cooked first so your child can manage them.
elf-feeding is an exciting developmental milestone for both mom and baby, but serving the wrong size or texture of food can put your little one at risk of choking. A few simple tips can help you take the fear out of introducing finger foods.
How to start feeding finger foods
You can begin introducing finger foods when your baby is between eight and nine months old. Your infant will have few, if any, teeth at this age so it's crucial that the texture is soft so he can "gum" the foods (some foods will need to be cooked first).
Your baby should always be seated and supervised when eating to prevent him from choking. Start by giving him puréed food for most of the meal, then gradually transition to more finger foods over a six- to eight-month period. Start with finger foods your baby likes in puréed form before introducing new tastes. And don't be in a rush – introduce finger foods one at a time and slowly add new ones as he starts to get the hang of things.
