Choosing safe infant finger foods allows your baby to teach herself to eat independently. Eating finger foods also helps improve your baby's fine motor skills. Infant solid food should not be given until your baby is about seven months old and able to hold his head up. Even at that time, he needs to be supervised in case he chokes on the food while learning to eat.
Good First Foods
Crackers, such as saltines or Ritz crackers, are good finger foods because they dissolve and digest easily and pose little risk of infant food allergies. Choose low- or no-salt crackers. Wheat allergies can be a concern for some babies, so check ingredients carefully. Teething biscuits also dissolve easily while giving your baby something to gnaw.
Dry cereal, such as Cheerios, is also a good finger food. Because of the small size, Cheerios force a child to use her fine motor skills. Cheerios also dissolve easily. Rice cereal is another excellent choice. Avoid hard cereals, large flakes cereals with dried fruit and cereals with nuts. These present risks of allergies or choking.
Fruits and Veggies
Soft fruit, such as small pieces of banana, pear or peaches, is also a safe infant finger food. Watch your baby carefully when serving fruit and be sure to cut it into manageable pieces.
Well-cooked vegetable sticks are good finger foods. Cut the sticks long enough so that the baby can hold on to the vegetables. Cook them very soft so that the baby doesn't choke on pieces he or she may bite off. Carrots and squash are good for vegetable sticks.
Dairy and Starch
Some types of cheeses can be good finger foods. The softer the cheese, the less chance of your baby choking on it. American Cheese, thinly sliced Harvarti or mild Provolone are good choices. Babies prefer mild cheeses; anything with too much flavor, such as Brie, sharp Cheddar or goat cheese will likely get spit out. Remember that most cheese is made with cow's milk, so it shouldn't be given until your baby is at least six months old.
Well-cooked pasta is a favorite finger food for babies. Because of the size of most types of pasta, a baby can easily pick up the food with her fingers. As with crackers, check the ingredients for wheat or other ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction. Stick to the smaller types of pasta, such as macaroni, ziti, bowtie and fusilli, to reduce the risk of choking.
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