Children as young as 6 months old can start finger food, so parents should encourage their child to eat with their hand to help them learn how to grasp and develop an interest in eating. Check out the benefits of offering finger foods to your baby!
1 Benefits of Offering Finger Foods to Your Baby
- Helps improve fine motor skills by grasping and bringing food to their mouth.
- Helps develop speech skills through practicing biting and chewing motions. Parents can offer a variety of foods from soft to hard, or even liquid foods.
- Reduces the risk of picky eating and food refusal.
- Enhances hand-eye coordination in a fluid motion when allowing the child to feed themselves.
- Increases sensory experience as the child interacts with the food, holding, smelling, and even playing with it.
Benefits of Offering Finger Foods to Your Baby
2 Considerations When Offering Finger Foods to Your Baby
- Offer cooked, soft, and bite-sized foods that are easy to grasp.
- Always ensure clean hands before and after eating.
- Supervise your child during meals to prevent choking hazards.
Considerations When Offering Finger Foods to Your Baby
3 Suggestions for Finger Food options that are easy for babies to grasp
- Cooked, soft vegetables and tubers like , , ,…
- Soft fruits like , ,…
- Circular-shaped snacks like donuts, ,…
- Rice balls in a circular shape.
- long, thinly sliced pieces that are just the right size for a child’s hand.
- Types of .
- Sliced bread, breadsticks.
- , , .
Suggestions for Finger Food options that are easy for babies to grasp
From the information above, it is hoped that parents will encourage their child to practice finger foods as soon as they start solid foods, to help them learn and develop better. We hope that the information in this article will help you take care of your child.
Source: Motherandbaby/Babycenter