Babies Baby Food When Babies Can Eat Finger Food By Jennifer White Jennifer White has authored parenting books and has worked in childcare and education fields for over 15 years. Learn about our editorial process Jennifer White Updated on November 02, 2019 Print Jamie Grill/Tetra images/Getty Images I often field questions like these from parents who are cautious about starting finger foods for baby: Don't they have to have teeth?What if they don't get enough calories?Shouldn't we wait until after one year? The truth is your baby is most likely going to be ready for finger foods well before his first birthday (talk to your pediatrician for more precise timing). Contrary to popular opinion, your baby does not need a single tooth in order to eat finger foods, just as long as the food is diced into small enough pieces and is soft enough for his gums to chew. When Is Your Baby Ready for Finger Foods? A baby's development isn't like a light switch that turns on at an exact age (in months). Babies progress at their own pace. So when it comes to starting finger foods, you'll want to be sure that your baby has reached these milestones first, likely sometime between 7 to 10 months of age. Can hold head upAble to sit up upright completely without support or assistance. Babies who slump or slouch are far more likely to choke.Displays the pincer grasp. Babies can't feed themselves if they can't get it to their mouths!Able to mash soft food between the gums (no teeth required!) Other Safety Tips Additionally, you'll want to follow these tips before starting your baby on finger foods: Never ever leave your baby unattended while eating finger foods. Choking can happen in the proverbial blink of an eye.The American Academy of Pediatrics has released new policies on when you can introduce certain foods. More than likely your baby can have more foods than what you thought.Only give your baby foods that are in small enough pieces for your baby to handle and are soft enough for his gums to mash.Before you begin finger foods, talk to your doctor about his or her thoughts first. Helping Baby Learn to Feed Once baby can sit up and bring her hands or other objects to her mouth, you can give her finger foods to help her learn to feed herself. Make sure anything you give your baby is soft, easy to swallow and cut into small pieces. Some examples include: Small pieces of bananaWafer-type cookies or crackersScrambled eggsWell-cooked pastaWell-cooked chicken finely choppedWell-cooked and cut up yellow squash, peas, and potatoes At each of your baby’s daily meals, she should be eating about 4 ounces or the amount in one small jar of strained baby food. Limit giving your baby foods that are made for adults. These foods often contain more salt and other preservatives. Which Foods Should Not Be Given to a Baby Foods that require chewing beyond what the gums can doNo hot dogs, including meat sticks or baby food hot dogsNo nuts and seedsNo chunks of meat or cheeseNo whole grapesNo popcornNo chunks of peanut butterNo raw vegetablesNo fruit chunks, such as apple chunksNo hard, gooey or sticky candy Choosing Beginner Finger Foods for Your Baby Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Track your baby’s most exciting moments with our milestone checklist. Get it free when you sign up for our newsletter. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Academy of Pediatrics, healthychildren.org.