How big to cut baby finger food

How to Cut Food for Babies and Toddlers

It’s possible to make it easier for kids to eat the food we offer them simply by making sure it’s cut into appropriate sizes. This can help reduce frustration, picky eating, and food waste—and the potential for choking risks. This post has all of my best tips for how to cut food for babies and toddlers!

How to Cut Food for Babies and Toddlers

Food can be slippery and hard to pick up. It can be chewy, tough, sticky, or a whole host of other textures. It can help to greatly reduce frustration at mealtimes if you consider a few basic tips when cutting food for kids. The principals of this are really straight forward, but I’m going to share a lot of visuals since I know the real life practice of this can get confusing!

How to Cut Food for Baby Led Weaning

If you’re starting solids with the Baby Led Weaning style, you’ll want to make sure that the food is soft (it should easily squish between your fingers) and be cut at least the size of your finger. This will help ensure that baby can easily pick it up, yet be unable to put the entire piece into her mouth.

TIP: Find my Ultimate Guide to Baby Led Weaning here.

Tips for Cutting Up Finger Foods for Babies

When babies are about 9 months old, they develop the “pincer grasp”, or the ability to pick up smaller pieces between two fingers. At this age, you can start to serve very soft, squishable finger foods that are about the size of a pea or two.

TIP: Find my full list of Early Finger Foods for Babies here.

Progression of how to serve raw veggies for kids

How to Serve Raw Veggies to Toddlers

Offering raw veggies to kids can be challenging since many are hard and take a lot of work to chew. And big chunks of raw veggies like carrots can be choking hazards. To stay safe and give the kids a chance to practice with the new textures, try:

12/14 months: Start with shredded raw veggies like carrots, cucumbers, bell pepper, and lettuce. (You can soften the carrots for a few minutes in very hot water if desired.)
16/18 months: Proceed to very, very thin slices (paper thin!).
20/24 months: Gradually offer slightly thicker pieces around, but they should still be thin and less than 1/4-inch thick.
2 years: Try offering small diced pieces of bell pepper and cucumber, though some kids may still do better with larger, thin pieces.
4+ years: Kids may be able to safely chew a big piece of raw carrot or a whole baby carrot. (This is a really tough texture, so try to avoid it for a while.)

How to Cut Sandwiches for Kids

Bread can be a challenging texture for kids, especially when there are other textures in the middle of a sandwich. Progressing through a few phases can make this easier and help avoid frustration.

6+ month: Serve lightly toasted finger-size or larger pieces of bread for baby to gnaw on.
9+ months: Dice bread into very small pieces. Moisten it with apple butter, baby food puree, or another moist spread as needed to help baby move it around in their mouths.
14/16 months: Stick pieces are great for this age to help kids practice taking bites.
20/22 months: Sandwich quarters are a great size for one year olds and are a nice size for little hands to hold.

TIP: Find my favorite Kid’s Sandwiches here.

How to Serve Apples to Babies and Toddlers

Start with applesauce and Roasted Apples for babies, then shredded apple to thin matchsticks to very thin slices through the one year old year.

How to Serve Bananas to Babies and Toddlers

Start with a BLW-style banana (leave a little of the skin on to act as a less slippery handle) and Banana Puree, then move to small pieces around 9 months, and larger pieces around 16 months. Kids may also be able to bite whole bananas after 12 months since they are so soft.

How to Serve Broccoli to Babies and Toddlers

Start with Mashed Potatoes with Broccoli or a big BLW-style piece, then move to smaller very tender pieces around 9 months, and gradually increase the size through the one year old year.

With all of these, you want the florets to be very soft so they are easy to chew.

Fork making “bite marks” in pear

How to Help Kids Learn to Take Bites

It’s common for one year olds to stuff a lot of food into their mouths at once, so we sometimes need to be very deliberate about teaching them to take bites. You can use a fork to make a “bite mark” so they can see where to try to put their teeth. You can also give them larger pieces of food that they physically wouldn’t be able to fit into their mouths so they sort of have to take a bite.

Sit with the kids during meals, if you can, and show them how you take bites. This is a normal phase and kids usually get the hang of it if we give them time to learn and practice.

Try cutting foods in new ways to keep thing interesting.

Best Tips for Cutting Food for Kids

Start with finger-size pieces at 6+ months for baby led weaning.
Transition to pea (or two peas) size pieces around 9 months when kids can pick up smaller pieces between their fingers.
Offer larger pieces so they can practice taking bites around 16/18 months.
For raw veggies and hard fruits (like apples), start with shreds, then matchsticks, and paper thin pieces.
Save baby carrots and other very hard raw veggies until age 4+.
Find my favorite baby First Finger Foods.
Find my go-to toddler Finger Foods.
Learn more about Serving Nuts to Kids.
Brush up on the common choking hazards and how to reduce the risk.

Related Recipes

I’d love to know if you have any questions on this or feedback, so please comment below!

How to Cut Foods for Baby-Led Weaning

You’ve probably seen photos online of babies practicing baby-led weaning, chomping down on a whole carrot or grasping raw apple slices. But, is this safe?

In the case of the raw carrot and apples, nope. But, baby-led weaning certainly can be safe, if you know how to cut and cook foods properly.

Baby-led weaning, or baby-led feeding as I prefer to call it, means that babies feed themselves finger foods as soon as they start solids. But it isn’t anything goes. Here’s how to make sure that the foods you give your baby are safe and easy-to-eat for your baby’s developmental capabilities. Because if your baby can’t pick up the food, then she can’t actually eat it!

And these guidelines work for any finger foods, even if your baby is still eating some purées (which is just fine, by the way!).

Size and Shape

At around 6 months — Most babies just starting solids haven’t developed their pincer grasp (thumb and forefinger) yet. So to pick up foods they grasp them with their whole palm. Since you want your baby to still access the food while it’s in her palm, it’s best to cut food into long, thin sticks. Think about the length and width of your pinky finger, and check out the photo above from Baby-Led Feeding for some ideas.

Other than choking hazards and honey (which you should never give to a baby under age 1), most foods are fair game at this age, including meat, poultry, cheese (shredded), and allergens like eggs, nuts (never whole, but a little smooth nut butter stirred into a purée or spread on toast), and fish.

Toasts are another excellent vehicle for introducing new foods and flavors. Because while we don’t want foods to be too hard (see below), we also don’t want them to be too soft and gummy. Commercial bread can be difficult to pick up and can turn into a ball of mush in a baby’s mouth. But, lightly toasted bread is ideal for self-feeding. Here are 15 of my favorite toast toppings for babies.

And remember that much of eating at this early stage is about your baby exploring–touching, smelling, and yes, tasting. But don’t be alarmed if it seems like little of the food is actually making it into her tummy. Self-feeding takes a lot of eye-hand coordination, and that’s an ability your baby is still developing.

At around 8-10 months — When babies develop their pincer grasp start cutting foods into small pieces, about chickpea-sized. And for small round foods like chickpeas or blueberries, smash them lightly before serving. It’s great for babies at this age to practice their pincer grasp, but it’s also A-OK to continue serving food in sticks like you did when he was younger. The photo above is also from Baby-Led Feeding.

Some of my other favorite single-ingredient foods at this stage include chopped hard-cooked eggs and small pasta shapes.

This is also a good time to begin offering your baby a spoon along with thick soups or mashes. It will take practice for her to get the hang of eating with the spoon, but you can pre-load the utensil to start, and of course, practice makes perfect.

Texture

At all ages, foods should be soft enough that you can smash them with gentle pressure between your thumb and forefinger. This means no raw carrots, apples, nuts, or tough chunks of meat. For vegetables, this usually means steaming them, roasting them, or cooking them in an Instant Pot. Meat should also be very, very tender. Here’s my guide to cooking meat for babies.

Remember, to err on the side of caution with baby-led feeding and always stay with your baby while she’s eating. Then enjoy the show!

Looking for more baby-led weaning ideas and family feeding tips? Sign up for my newsletter! As a thank you, I’ll send you three of my favorite healthy smoothie recipes for the whole family. I look forward to being in touch!

Photos by Lauren Volo.

Jenna Helwig

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Baby food you can eat with your hands - Encyclopedia Baby food

Finger food

Levchuk Victoria ©

It is worth trying healthy baby food recipes to stimulate your child's interest in food. Children's food, which is eaten with their hands, should not exceed the size of a small box of porridge. It is also necessary to take into account that the child needs to be offered products that are age-appropriate and soft like mashed potatoes.

Hand food for children can be any food that the baby likes and is age appropriate.

A child does not need teeth to chew. Babies use their gums to soften food until their molars appear between 12-18 months of age.

TIP: Puree food or cut into small pieces to make it easier for your child to chew.

Table of Contents:

Fruit Ideas You Can Eat With Your Hands

Fruits are colorful and highly nutritious, small soft pieces of fruit can be eaten with your hands. Fruit is an excellent food for a child, which is eaten with the hands, just be sure to remove the seeds and bones.

Soft baked peaches - cubes
Banans
Small pieces of ripe apple
Cubes of ripe pears
Small plum cubes
Small pieces of apricot
Smile fuckers for fruitful fruit. it was possible to eat with fingers (we mix no more than three types of fruit)

In order for fruits to show themselves in a new way, sometimes it is enough to sprinkle them lightly with spices or wheat germ.

Vegetable ideas that you can eat with your hands

Vegetables are like fruits, you can eat them with your hands; make sure the vegetables are soft, cooked, seeded and peeled as needed:

soft cubes of baked sweet potatoes
soft cubes of baked white potatoes
small cubes of soft boiled carrots
small cubes of soft peas
cubes of soft boiled broccoli
small pieces of soft boiled green beans
small pieces of soft baked pumpkin or zucchini
large cubes of soft boiled vegetables mixed as a vegetable salad (no more than three types of vegetables)

You can try frying some of the vegetables - they make delicious snacks! Do not forget about herbs and spices to improve the taste.

Other finger food ideas

More snack foods - snacks aren't always fruits and vegetables. You can try some of the ideas below:

tofu cubes with oatmeal or wheat germ
boiled pasta (coils or butterflies)
small pieces of cheddar or gouda cheese, etc.
small cubes of boiled chicken, fish, beef or turkey, cottonseed 4 cereals, multi-cereals, etc.
small toasts with fruit, pure or with thin cream cheese
omelet

-7 days of waiting after using a new product, in order to avoid an allergic reaction from the baby. If necessary, you can consult with the child's pediatrician.

Social networks:

45 0.5-3-year-old child-Tarkwanem 3 year old child

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An infant between the ages of 6 months and a year must begin to receive complementary foods in addition to breast milk in order to cover the need for energy and all nutrients.
Gradually, as the child grows, you can switch to regular food (prepared from unprocessed raw materials, without the addition of salt and sugar).
Babies over 1 year of age can continue to receive breast milk in addition to complementary foods or normal foods, but by 2 years of age, the child should mostly switch to regular food. In addition to the protective properties of breast milk, depending on the mother's diet, the milk tastes slightly different each time, which further helps the baby to accept different tastes when forming eating habits.
When choosing complementary foods and regular meals, it is important to ensure that there is a variety of meals on offer. Both when breastfeeding, and when switching to complementary foods and regular food, babies can experience colic or allergies. Therefore (including during breastfeeding) those foods should be avoided or used with caution, in relation to which the mother herself or the father of the child was sensitive in childhood or remains sensitive in adulthood.
For children over 2 years of age, the recommendations for nutrition and food selection are similar to adults, but in absolute terms, the recommended amounts are smaller.
Remember not to teach your child to drink juice, let alone sugary drinks.

Meals

Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day - it provides the body with energy so that the child can play and learn new skills.
If the child is already on a normal diet, porridge is the best choice for breakfast. Make it with a variety of grains, mixed grains, or whole grains. Porridge can be cooked with milk, water or a mixture of both (for children under the age of one who do not receive breast milk, with a subsequent milk formula). Milk mixtures cannot be boiled, so they are always added to food at the end of cooking. Do not add salt and sugar. Instead, flavor your porridge with a variety of fruits and vegetables (e.g. banana, peach, carrot).
Egg dishes work well, but try to add vegetables to them too.
For a young child, the best drink is milk (breast milk, formula milk) or water.
You can give your child a few glasses of juice a week, but it's best to have it as a snack to make breakfast more energizing. Always prefer whole fruits to juices.
On Sunday mornings, you can offer pancakes, for example. We repeat, cook them without adding salt and sugar, but add either immediately to the dough, or then berries-fruits.
If the child attends kindergarten, weekday breakfasts must be adapted according to whether the child eats breakfast in the garden and what time he eats it. Breakfast does not need to be eaten immediately after waking up, but it is useful to have breakfast within an hour.

Snacks

Snacking is important on infants and young children's menus because a young child can only eat a small amount of food at a time. Snacking gives him energy and various important nutrients needed for development and growth.
Snacks should be as unprocessed as possible (eg, fresh or dry fruits and berries, vegetables, bread, juice, oatmeal, sandwiches, unflavored yogurt, also cottage cheese for children older than one year).
Candy, crackers, cookies, soft drinks, juice drinks, ice cream, etc. are not good snacks. Even one candy or cookie between meals can spoil a child's appetite for the whole day.
Do not give your child food as a prize or consolation, or if the child is bored.

Lunch and dinner

Lunch and dinner can be heavy , especially lunch. Soups and a slice of bread with soup go very well, as well as a dessert using a minimum amount of sugar, or even a small second.
The smaller the child, the more you need to use stewing-cooking in cooking his food. Perfect for a variety of casseroles. Since children want to see what ingredients food is made of, teaching a child to eat mixed dishes from infancy can hide vegetables in them that children do not really like.
For dinner, a thick salad of vegetables is suitable, in which you can add an egg, cheese, fish, meat, homemade cheese or something else. If the child eats properly in the garden, the food offered at home should not be very energy intensive. Dinner can be a family time where you can talk about the day's events and be together. Here you can discuss the menu for the next day, as well as prepare for the weekend.

A child should be taught to eat right and healthy from an early age. Habits formed in childhood often influence the choices we make later in life. Some children are quite selective in terms of what he eats and what not; It is important that you, as a parent, be an example to your child and encourage and support healthy eating habits.
Breast milk tastes sweet, so most babies have a natural craving for anything sweet. At the same time, a child who received breast milk is more even about new tastes, because through breast milk he felt different tastes and it is easier to offer him new dishes.
Sometimes a child may refuse certain foods, it may take up to 15 attempts before the child gets used to a new food. Be consistent in your decisions, feed your child with all the products necessary for his development, do not give up even when the child refuses for the first time or the first time. If the child actually completely refuses to eat something, change this product to something similar. The most important thing is not to give up. If you are breastfeeding your baby often enough at the same time, there is no need to worry about the baby, even if it takes several months to introduce new foods along with breast milk.
Young children in their food preferences are guided by two main factors - whether they are familiar with food and the taste of food (sweetness). For children under 4 years old, the most important thing is that the child knows what kind of food it is. Therefore, new products must be introduced carefully and in small quantities, leading by example. Getting used to new foods takes time. If you do it carefully and in a playful way, the children will be very interested. The more natural flowers will be presented on the plate, the more beautiful and appetizing the dish will be, the more it will contain various essential nutrients.
When eating, the child's mood and environment are important (for example, whether the TV is playing or there are guests) and whether the child is hungry.
For eating, it is imperative to set aside time to enjoy food. When eating together with the family, the child will eat faster, the example of parents is important from early childhood. Enjoy each other's company while eating.
Appearance and correct food temperature are important for a child. The child will eat with great appetite if he sees what ingredients the food was prepared from. Try different foods and cook them in different ways to ensure food variety and availability of different nutrients.
Teach your child to choose foods from different food groups so that he understands the diversity of food. Give your child the opportunity to choose their own food from suitable foods: this or that fruit, various grains, various vegetables, etc. Teach children to eat plenty of vegetables from an early age. To quench your thirst, offer water, not juice.
A child should never be scared about food. Food is not a means of punishment or reward. Do not force the child to eat, rather attract. If you force a child to eat, it greatly affects the psyche and behavior of the child and can leave a negative imprint on his entire subsequent life.

The most important child nutrition keywords:

example
communal meal
availability of suitable food
explanatory work
time
choice and decision making

When a baby is born (recommended already during the mother's pregnancy), it is the last time to review the eating habits of the whole family.
An example is one of the factors that will begin to shape the nutrition of a young child.
A child's eating habits are also shaped by what choice of food is available to the family (including the child), how meals are organized at home, etc. First of all, they will begin to influence a child over a year old.
Many children aged 2-3 years already go to nursery or kindergarten, and often spend time at home only in the evenings or on weekends. These meals should form a conscious choice. Children can discuss with children and direct their nutritional wishes.

There are many ways to offer fruits and vegetables to your child:

The child likes to eat with fingers, sticks, matches. Why ban it?
As a snack before dinner, after coming home from kindergarten or while watching TV, offer your child instead of chips carrot slices, apple slices, etc.
On the birthday table, children love chopped carrots, paprika, cucumbers and cauliflower pieces with dipping sauce. Why not offer fruit on a skewer (melon, pear, watermelon, grapes).
If you are in a hurry and don't have time to eat, keep a fruit handy that you can give your child a snack.
For children, the size of fruit or vegetable pieces and how they are processed may be important. A child may prefer a whole carrot over a grated carrot salad or a stewed carrot dish.
Young children do not like to chew on large and hard carrots, but they will eat carrots cut into slices with pleasure. It is especially difficult for children to cope with carrots with a hard core.
If the child does not eat fresh fruits and vegetables at all, then cut them into molds (a month, a heart), maybe you will like it? Why not do it with the kids?
The child can happily eat a small round sandwich with a face made of vegetable pieces.
If you are making a salad for children, consider their wishes. As a rule, children like to eat different foods separately.
A child who does not eat boiled rutabagas or carrots will happily eat them raw. A child who does not want to eat raw carrots will gladly eat them boiled in vegetable stew.

There are many different uses for fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables do not have to be eaten fresh or boiled, they can be discreetly added to various dishes:

soups, vegetable stews, casseroles, wok
pasta, sauces, cereals, meatballs
herbs (e. g. dill, parsley) for seasoning dishes
in pies, cakes, pizzas
fresh berry sauces for desserts, fruits in jelly and jelly
fruit shakes, milk and juice drinks

Get your child used to a variety of simple salads, such as carrot or kale salad. But to get the child used to different tastes, try other salads, for example, a salad of sauerkraut, pumpkin, onions (bulb and green).

Children grow in periods, which means that there may be times when the child eats too little, and there are periods when he eats more.

It is useful to ensure that food intake and energy expenditure are balanced.
If the child is very active, he should eat more.
If the child seems to be eating too little or too much, you should keep a food diary - for about a week, write down everything that and how much the child ate and drank.
If the child has a bowel movement every day, then the amount of food for the child is sufficient, there is no need to worry. Often it turns out that the problem is not in the amount eaten, but in the choice of food. After all, you can get as much energy from a couple of candy cookies as from a good portion of soup. Therefore, it is unreasonable to immediately grab a jar of vitamins and minerals, first of all, nutrition should be reconsidered - sufficient, balanced and varied nutrition will provide the necessary substances. The only exception is vitamin D, which all children should receive as a dietary supplement.
As long as a varied and balanced diet is available to a child, he grows and develops according to his age, there is no cause for concern. If parents still feel that the child may not be getting all the necessary nutrients in sufficient quantities, from time to time blood tests can be done by a doctor to check the health.

Ideally, it would be better not to give sweets (sweets, chocolates, biscuits, soft drinks, etc.) to children under 3 years of age.
Candy or biscuits should never be given to children as a consolation, reward, or dispersal of boredom - on a subconscious level, this may affect his eating habits in the future. This recommendation is quite difficult to follow if the family has older children, but in this case, avoid bringing home sweets (sweets, cookies) and keep them on the table. Instead, put peeled-cut fruits and vegetables on the table.
To satisfy the desire to eat something sweet, nuts and dried fruits and berries are suitable, but one should not be too zealous with them either. Babies and young children can only be given nuts in a ground or highly ground form, and make sure that children do not have an allergic reaction to them. Clean water should always be available to quench thirst. You can drink up to two glasses of juice per week. If necessary, dilute the juice yourself, do not buy nectars, juice drinks and syrups in the store, not to mention soft drinks. While vitamin-fortified water is thought to help you get enough vitamins, one 750 ml bottle actually contains about 40 grams of sugar, which is about the daily dose of sweets for an adult. A varied, balanced, and regular diet (including cereals, fruits and vegetables, and other food groups) ensures adequate intake of vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients, as well as energy, and reduces the desire to eat something sweet.

The risk of being overweight in adulthood is higher in infants who received formula and complementary foods instead of breast milk in infancy.
It is very likely that an obese child will grow into an obese adult. Fortunately, serious obesity among children aged 0-3 years is very rare and is primarily associated with more serious diseases. At the same time, it is absolutely possible to feed a 2-3-year-old child if he is indiscriminately offered sweets, chocolate, cookies, pastries, soft drinks, etc.
To check whether the child is growing and gaining weight normally, you can look at the growth and weight curve of infants and children, and in case of underweight or overweight, it is imperative to consult a family doctor or pediatrician for further instructions. You can not limit the nutrition of the child, guided by their own ideas.

Many young children go to nursery from about 1.5 years old. This means that often on weekdays the child eats out three times - breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner. According to how much time the child spends in kindergarten, how many times and what he eats, it is necessary to form the child's home meals. The body needs to be regularly provided with the necessary amount of energy, so it is important to stick to daily meals. Keep up to date with the weekly menu in kindergarten, make different options for homemade dinners or weekend lunches. The more different tastes and dishes you introduce your child to from an early age, the easier it will be for him to get used to food in kindergarten.

In Estonia, food regulations have been developed in pre-school child care institutions, which are regulated by an order of the Minister of Social Affairs.

It is not so easy for children under one year old, even under 2 years old, to find the right food if you are not eating at home. Meals offered to children often include too much salt or sugar. Children's meals may appeal to children (often due to their high fat, sugar and/or salt content), but their nutritional value is often very low. Instead of children's meals, it is better to choose a regular dish or soup and ask for it to be prepared with as little salt as possible. The food offered in fast food places is generally not suitable for children under 3 years old (and in fact, adults).

When a child turns one year old, the dishes offered on the occasion of his birthday are intended primarily for visiting adults and other children.
Depending on the age of the children, their age recommendations can be used.
Food offered to the birthday person must be prepared without salt and sugar. Sweets, soft drinks, potato chips and other products that are very popular at children's birthdays are best removed from the festive table of a child who is one year old, and even 2 and 3 years old.
Dishes on the festive table of a 2-3-year-old child should have a mild taste with minimal or no added salt and sugar.
Child-friendly chopped vegetables such as carrots, paprika, cucumber and cauliflower pieces with unflavored yoghurt dipping sauce.
You can offer fruit on a skewer (melon, pear, watermelon, grapes).
If desired, you can prepare more dense dishes (salads, homemade pizza, etc.), but they must be prepared from minimally processed raw materials.
If you offer pastries, try to find low sugar options (raw sugar, agave syrup, etc. are not good alternatives).

Always read the label on food packaging! This will help you make a more informed choice.
The allowable amount of supplements for children is usually less than for adults (the maximum amount is based on the body weight of an adult). Therefore, be careful with colored sweets, drinks, cookies with a long shelf life, desserts and sausages, products containing synthetic sweeteners.
If the child is old enough to participate in the grocery shopping, let the child choose between suitable foods: one or another fruit, various cereal products, various vegetables, etc.
Avoid the shelves with sweets, cookies, soft drinks, etc. , so that the child does not have a desire to buy sweets. Ideally, it would be to introduce the child to sweets, etc. in small quantities and rarely, and also as late as possible, and exactly after the third year of life. Unfortunately, this recommendation is difficult to follow if there are older children in the family.
What to do if the child in the store constantly whines and cries to get what he wants? Read practical tips here.

Children under 3 years of age should not and should not be given gadgets, especially with meals.
The child should not be taught to watch TV while eating, as this takes attention away from the meal and in turn creates bad eating habits in the child. While eating, all attention should be paid to the process of eating.

Children under 3 are usually very active and need extra energy.
The principle of a healthy lifestyle is that the amount of energy received from food and the amount of energy expended are in balance.
All children should be as active as possible from an early age - climbing, crawling, walking, jumping, chasing a ball, playing in the yard. Parents themselves should orient their children to the movement, be an example to them.
Mobility habits formed in childhood are the basis for adult mobility habits.