Can you give finger foods and purées at the same meal?
Yes. Finger foods can sit on the tray while you spoon-feed purée or mash, and the NHS suggests offering them at each meal to help babies learn to feed themselves. Your baby doesn't need teeth first: an NHS community health service says not having teeth is not a reason to hold off.
Expect most of the food to be squashed, dropped or smeared at first, with very little swallowed. That's still useful practice: the NHS says finger foods help babies learn to bite off, chew and swallow small pieces of soft food. It also notes there's no more risk of choking when a baby feeds themselves than when they're fed with a spoon.
When to get help
- If your baby is choking and can't cough, cry or breathe effectively, call your local emergency number and start baby choking first aid.
- Talk to your health visitor or doctor if your baby often coughs or chokes when eating, has a wet or gurgly voice during or after meals, or has trouble breathing while eating.
- Ask for advice if your baby isn't yet showing the readiness signs, such as sitting with a steady head and bringing food to the mouth, or if you're worried about how they use their hands.
- Speak to your doctor if you're worried about weight gain, or if meals upset your baby most of the time.
Good first finger foods and how to prepare them
Based on NHS finger-food examples and food-preparation advice. At first, pieces about the size of your own finger work well, and firm foods need cooking until soft.
| Food | How to prepare it | Check before serving |
|---|---|---|
| Carrot, parsnip or butternut squash | Peel, cut into finger-sized sticks and steam or simmer until soft. | A piece squashes easily when you press it. Don't offer raw carrot. |
| Broccoli or cauliflower | Cook florets until soft, leaving a little stalk to hold. | The stalk is as soft as the floret. |
| Banana, peach or melon | Offer ripe, soft fruit in slices. Cut melon into slices rather than chunks. | Peel, stones and pips are removed. Harder fruit such as apple or pear needs cooking first. |
| Potato, sweet potato or pasta | Cook until soft and offer wedges, sticks or large pasta shapes. | No salt in the food or the cooking water. |
| Toast or chapatti | Cut into narrow strips. Lightly toast white bread. | Untoasted white bread can form a doughy ball if it isn't chewed well. |
| Cheese | Use pasteurised full-fat hard cheese, cut into short, narrow strips. | Choose a lower-salt cheese. |
Why finger foods help alongside purées
- Practice for chewing: holding and biting soft pieces helps babies learn to bite off, chew and swallow small pieces of soft food, according to the NHS.
- Practice for the hands: reaching, grabbing and getting food to the mouth builds hand-eye coordination. The CDC encourages letting babies pinch or pick up food with their fingers to develop fine motor skills.
- Learning what food is: touching, squashing and dropping food helps babies learn how it feels, which the CDC describes as part of getting used to textures.
- Your baby sets the pace: when babies feed themselves, they can show you how much they want to eat, as the NHS points out.
- The grip changes over months: at first babies hold food in the whole fist, so long sticks are easier than small pieces. By 10 to 12 months, the NHS says babies should find it easier to pick up small pieces and feed themselves.
How to add finger foods, one meal at a time
Add one or two pieces to a spoon meal
At a meal your baby already enjoys, put one or two soft finger foods on the tray and carry on with the spoon as usual. Cooking a few extra sticks of the vegetable you're puréeing, such as carrot or broccoli, is an easy way to start.
Check the texture
Choose foods that break up easily in the mouth and are long enough to grip, as the NHS suggests. Press a piece between your finger and thumb: if it doesn't squash easily, cook it for longer. Remove skin, pips, stones and bones.
Sit upright and supervise
Use a highchair with the harness fastened so your baby sits upright, which helps them swallow properly. Stay with your baby and supervise the whole meal, with the TV, phones and tablets out of the way.
Let your baby explore
Let them pick the food up, squash it, lick it and drop it; the NHS encourages letting babies touch and hold food. When they close their mouth firmly or turn their head away, they've had enough.
Offer finger foods at every meal
Keep offering, even when most of it ends up on the floor. The NHS says it may take 10 tries or more for a baby to get used to new foods, flavours and textures.
Move to smaller pieces as the grip improves
When your baby starts picking food up between finger and thumb, smaller soft pieces become possible. Keep cutting small round foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes into quarters, and don't give whole nuts.
