If you are wondering what finger foods are and when is the right time to introduce them to your baby, here is all the information you need. Your baby is ready for its first finger foods as soon as it develops the pincer grasp. This will be the time when the baby is around eight to nine months of age.
Finger foods are basically foods that your baby can grasp with its fingers and mash with its gums. These are foods that will help your baby learn how to feed itself. The right kind of foods to begin with are the ones that your baby already likes to eat and that can be easily made into small bits. While choosing the right finger foods, keep in mind that babies do not have teeth, so they can't really chew. Therefore, the food that you give your baby should be such that can be mashed with the gums.
The finger foods that you serve should be part of the main meal of your baby. Try giving your baby small pieces of different foods that it can eat on its own. Whole grain crackers and teething biscuits are wonderful finger foods. You could also try giving your baby small pieces of ripe fruits and cooked vegetables. It is not a good idea to give raw vegetables as of now, so stick to handing over small pieces of cooked vegetables. Cheese cubes and cooked pasta are foods that your baby will love to taste and relish. You could also try beans and rice puffs.
So, the idea is to begin with foods that your baby already loves and then you can slowly experiment with different kinds of new foods. This will set the ball rolling for your baby to begin eating on its own!
Finger foods are basically foods that your baby can grasp with its fingers and mash with its gums. These are foods that will help your baby learn how to feed itself. The right kind of foods to begin with are the ones that your baby already likes to eat and that can be easily made into small bits. While choosing the right finger foods, keep in mind that babies do not have teeth, so they can't really chew. Therefore, the food that you give your baby should be such that can be mashed with the gums.
The finger foods that you serve should be part of the main meal of your baby. Try giving your baby small pieces of different foods that it can eat on its own. Whole grain crackers and teething biscuits are wonderful finger foods. You could also try giving your baby small pieces of ripe fruits and cooked vegetables. It is not a good idea to give raw vegetables as of now, so stick to handing over small pieces of cooked vegetables. Cheese cubes and cooked pasta are foods that your baby will love to taste and relish. You could also try beans and rice puffs.
So, the idea is to begin with foods that your baby already loves and then you can slowly experiment with different kinds of new foods. This will set the ball rolling for your baby to begin eating on its own!