Feeding babies and toddlers - finger foods

by **Nanneerose** Wed Apr 23, 2014 7:43 pm

As babies start to have new foods, from the age of 6 months, they quite quickly want to start holding pieces of food themselves and they begin to learn how to get the piece of food to their mouth and how to chew on it.
Be prepared for mess and for them to take quite a long time playing with and chewing on the piece of food. The more they practice the better they will get. If you get frustrated with them they may become stressed and it will be harder for them to learn how to feed themselves. For safety reasons when they are learning to eat, babies and toddlers need to be sitting still in a baby chair or on your lap.
The foods need to be firm enough to hold, but babies are at risk from choking if they are given hard pieces of food.
Finger food ideas
Bread and other cereals

Strips of bread or toast (spreads such as cream cheese will make them softer and a little easier to manage)
Tiny sandwiches with avocado, vegemite or ricotta cheese
Cooked pasta shapes eg spiral shapes provide easy grip for little hands
Pikelets
Rusks
Savoury biscuits with spreads, eg rice crackers.

Fruit and vegetables

Large sticks of rockmelon or watermelon with seeds removed
Banana rings or chunks
Avocado
Orange, mandarin segments - remove peel and seeds
Canned fruit eg diced mixed fruit, peach slices
Grated or soft stewed apple, pear
Grapes cut into quarters with skins and seeds removed
Stone fruit eg plums, nectarines. Remove tough skin and stone.
Strawberries
Soft cooked carrot, broccoli, cauliflower pieces
Soft cooked vegetable cubes or pieces eg pumpkin, potato, zucchini

Meats and protein foods

Strips of lean beef, lamb and chicken
Pieces of soft cooked meats eg from casseroles
Canned fish eg. tuna, salmon (mix with mashed potato)
Cubes of tofu (bean curd)
Meat or fish patties - cooked meat or fish can be finely chopped and mixed with mashed potato then shaped into balls or patties
Boiled or scrambled egg
Sticks of soft cheese or grated cheese
Baked beans or other cooked beans.

Preventing choking
Choking is a risk for babies and young children because they:

put small objects into their mouths
do not have the back teeth needed to chew and grind lumps of food fully and these teeth may not be developed until around four years of age
are still learning to eat, chew and swallow
may run, play, laugh or cry while there is something in their mouth.

How can I make eating safer for my child?
At eating times:

always stay with your baby or toddler and supervise them while eating
make sure that they sit quietly while eating. If your baby or toddler is playing, laughing, or crying wait until they settle before offering food
never force them to eat, as this may cause them to choke.

Some foods should not be offered to babies or toddlers because they can be unsafe.Don’t give the following foods to babies and toddlers:

food that can break off into hard pieces. For example, avoid raw carrot, celery sticks, apple pieces and whole grapes. These foods should be cut up, grated, cooked or mashed.
sausages, frankfurts and other meats unless they are cut into small pieces. Tough skins on frankfurts and other sausages should be removed. Check fish for bones and remove any.
popcorn, nuts, hard lollies, corn chips or other similar foods.

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=302&id=2945

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