When do I introduce finger foods?

Hi,

I have a 10mth old baby and was wandering if it's a good time to introduce finger foods. Is it easier to give him foods in pieces on the highchair tray or is it easier to offer him rusks of toast or fruit pieces he can grab on to?

I have a 7 1/2 month old son who know seems to be interested in only feeding himself. He wont take it from a spoon anymore, just wants to pick it up with his hand..yes very messy! So I suppose thats one indication of when to start finger food, but I have also been told that you should start them at about 7-8 months old, so they can start getting the hang of it themselves....also it teaches them to chew more..I"ve been told....As for what is easier...I'm not too sure, I started him off with grated cheese, which he loves...and have just tried toast, which was a little scary, and he did gag on it a bit....but I'm still learning and so is he. My sister told me to give broken up muffins, or give him sultanas, or a risotto dish (the rice sticks together and is easy to pick up apparently) or fruit pieces like bananna..advocado....but not apple just yet as its hard..unless you cook it. Hope that helps but I am also only just starting him on finger foods.

Hi there,

I also have a 10 month old and started her on finger foods about a month ago because she decided that she wouldn't eat unless she could do it herself!!

I wasnt too sure on what i should be giving her to eat so i went and saw her plunket nurse who gave me a few good ideas. She told me to get some bread and put some marmite on it and some grated cheese, you then put it in the oven to bake for 15min. When it is cooled down you give it to them and the bread is quite hard so that they dont get too much at once and choke and it also stops marmite going everywhere! i have tried it and emily just loves it!

I also have been told to give her rice bubbles which she enjoys and peas and carrotts etc which i was abit scared about at first but she manages them just fine. Just make sure that they are nice and soft. Her favourite though at the moment is pancakes with hashbrowns a close second!!!

Emily eats just about anything now, i think once they have a few teeth and learn the art of chewing they can eat quite abit!

Best of luck with it all!!!

I have been giving my baby finger food from 6.5 months. She still has her tea mashed, although i know longer put it through the blender, and eats it off a spoon but only if i give her something she can hold as well. I cut carrots into long pieces and boil it so she can hold that, and i don't put carrot in her vegies anymore. For breakfast, she has her cereal which i feed her on a spoon but also has vegemite toast. For lunch she has a vegemite sandwich with some yoghurt. For morning and afternoon tea, she has cut up fruit, which i give her and she feeds it to herself. The only fruit i don't give her to have by herself is apple, which i grate just before giving to her, but she has to have other fruit too, just so i'm able to give her the apple on a spoon! Hannah will be 11 months old soon. She let me know when she was ready for finger foods, the same way she let me know she was ready for solids at 3.5 months.

I have been having a bit of trouble with giving him toast .....my sister told me to give him to them as fingers, but the problem is that he shoves it all in his mouth, I in turn take it back out...too scared that he'll choke, silly I know....do I let him learn himself, or do I just give him the toast in very tiny little pieces at the moment?

maybe you could try smaller peices, but big enough so that he wont choke on it. Toast is real scary aye, but the longer they leave it in their mouths the more they soggy it up and can chew/swallow easier. I was real scared too when emily started on toast but she pretty quickly got the hang of it and now sucks and eats abit of it and then just spits out the bits she doesnt want in her mouth anymore! charming i know but at least its safe!

Hi Sammie. I give Bradley toast for lunch which are cut up into soldiers. I put vegimite on them and he feeds himself but gets very messy. That is why he wears an apron bib at lunch. Try it!

Hi all

Just wondering if any of you have tried giving your little one cheese sticks and at what age? Is it too early to give this to an 8 month old?

either way should be fine