Introducing Finger Foods

At around 8-10 months, your baby will want to start feeding him/herself. In fact, many babies are quite determined to feed themselves but don’t quite have the coordination to use a spoon or fork just yet. Children will want to play with their food so it’s time for mum and dad to accept the big mess created at meal times!

Good finger foods to start with are foods that melt in your mouth like pear or watermelon. Teething babies will also love something like cold cucumber. If your baby has teeth already, don’t give a finger food that can be bitten off to create pieces that could be choking hazards, such as raw baby carrots.

It’s best to avoid sweet or salted snacks at this age. These snacks put pressure on the kidneys and liver and it is also important to help your little one develop healthy tastes for the future. There are many healthy non-sugary and unsalted snacks to choose from which will help to establish healthy taste buds.

Finger food ideas:

• Fingers of toast – with just a spread of unsalted butter or something more substantial like peanut butter, some prepared vegetable puree or grilled cheese.
• Sliced banana, pear or mango
• Fingers of watermelon
• Cubes of ripe avocado
• Fingers of cucumber
• Cheese sticks
• Hard boiled egg cut into big pieces
• Sweet potato or potato fries
• Peas
• Small florets of broccoli or cauliflower
• Fingers of peeled cucumber
• Steamed asparagus
• Rice cakes
• Teething rusks
• Raisins
• Peanut butter sandwiches with the crusts cut off