Finger Foods for Kids: When to Start Giving, Benefits and Recipes

So let's first understand the meaning of finger food.

What is finger food for babies?

From birth to 6 months, it is recommended to exclusively breastfeed a baby. At the same time, after they are 6 months old, other nutrients are also needed for the physical and mental development of the baby. This is the reason why they are advised to consume such nutritious ingredients, which are soft and soft. Finger food is one of them. Actually, finger food refers to such foods, which can be easily eaten by children by lifting them with their hands. Further in the article, readers will get to read detailed information related to finger food.

Now we will know, at what age children should start giving finger food.

When to start giving finger food to babies?

After 6 months, it is advisable to give semi-solid food such as puree or mashed food to the baby. On the other hand, if we talk about the age of giving finger food, then according to research published on the site of NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), finger food can be consumed after the child is 8 months old. Apart from this, another research also shows that between the age of 6 to 8 months, babies are able to eat small food on their own with their fingers. In such a situation, when the child is 8 months old, the right age to give finger food can be considered.

Keep in mind that whatever finger food you give to the child, give it in small quantities. Don't overfeed at once or try to force-feed them. At the same time, if the child likes some finger food more and he gives a hint to eat it again and again, then he should not give special food items again and again, but keep variety in his food.

Let us now explain how to start feeding finger foods to babies.

How to start feeding finger foods to the baby?

Parents can start feeding finger foods to babies by following the methods mentioned here –

• For feeding finger food to the baby, first of all, he should be seated on a high chair or in a comfortable place. After that, a small amount of finger food and spoon should be left in a bowl. After this, the child will gradually start eating finger food on his own according to his interest.
• At the same time, it should be kept in mind that if the child is not showing interest in eating food on his own, then food should not be forced into his mouth, but wait for a few days and repeat this process again.
• Apart from this, while feeding finger food to the children, keep in mind that he is not having any problem in taking the morsel inside. Also, pay attention to his gestures and gestures to see what he is trying to say.
• Along with this, while feeding finger food to children, keep the place where the child is eating, such as a table or table cloth and floor.
• To initiate finger food, the child can also put water in a cup and put it in front of him, if the child shows interest in picking it up by himself and is successful in drinking water, then it can be assumed that he is now Finger food is also ready to eat.
• At the same time, when the child starts eating finger food, then along with it, breastfeeding, formula milk, and puree should be continued.

In this part of the article, we will learn about the precautions to be taken while giving finger food.

What precautions should be taken while giving finger food to babies?

You have already known when should finger food be given to children, but it is also important to take care of some precautions while giving finger food. So let us now tell what precautions are necessary while giving finger food to the child:

• While giving finger food to the child, keep in mind his age. Do not make him eat finger food before 8 months.
• While giving finger food to the baby, keep in mind that they should not be too big or too hard. Children will not be able to chew on large and hard pieces. In addition, it can also get stuck in their throat.
• Whenever you feed finger food to the baby, make him sit well in an upright position. This will not make it difficult for them to take the morsel inside.
• If you are giving any seeded fruit to the child as finger food, then before that take out all its seeds carefully, so that the seed does not go into the child's mouth.
• If you are cooking finger food for the baby, try not to use salt in it.
• Always feed children such food as finger food, which is soft and soft, so that children can digest it easily.
• When finger food is given to the child, an older person should be in front of him at that time.

In this part of the article, we are sharing the list of some finger foods.

List of best finger foods for kids

Below we are telling about such finger foods in a sequential manner, which can be consumed by children. Some of these are as follows–

• Some fruits are soft, such as watermelon, banana, soft and ripe pear, peach, and kiwi.
• Vegetables that are cooked, roasted, or boiled, which can be sliced ​​or mashed thin and long, such as carrots, green beans, potatoes, zucchini, and sweet potatoes.
• Apart from this, some vegetables can be cut into small pieces and cooked and fed, such as - cauliflower, broccoli.
• Cooked Pasta.
• The soft part of the bread.
• small pieces of cheese.

After the best finger food, know about such foods which should not be consumed by children.

Which finger foods should not be given to children?

After telling about the finger food given to children, here we are telling the names of some such finger food, which should not be consumed by children.

• Children's kidneys are not able to tolerate excess salt, so avoid consuming such things, which contain more salt. It is better to avoid using salt in their food.
• Highly sweet foods or sugar can damage the teeth of children, so consuming more sweet foods should also be avoided.
• Do not give honey to babies before one year of age, as it contains toxins that can be harmful to babies.
• Avoid feeding peanuts to children, as it can cause allergic problems in some children.
• Don't give baby fish in finger food as the fish has thorns, which can get stuck in their throat. In addition, certain types of fish can affect the baby's nervous system or cause food poisoning.
• As finger food, the child should not consume choking food such as nuts, seeds, grapes, popcorn etc. All these foods can get stuck in their throat.
• The child should also not be fed thick bread, large and hard pieces of cheese, this can also get stuck in their throat.

At the end of the article, we are talking about finger food recipes.

3 Finger Food Recipes for Kids

Here we are listing some great finger food recipes for kids. These recipes for kids are not only easy to make but it is also very easy to make kids consume it. So let's know finger food recipe for kids –

1. Banana Pancakes

Material :

• one cup wheat flour
• half cup milk
• one or two ripe bananas
• a bowl
• butter as required

Recipe :

• First of all, take out the peel of the banana and mash it well in a bowl.
• Now take out the flour in a separate vessel and add milk to it.
• Then add mashed banana to it and mix all three well and prepare a thick batter.
• Now put a pan on the gas and first put light butter in it.
• Then spread the prepared batter in it and cook them till they become golden brown.
• In this way the Banana Pan Cake will be ready.

2. Half Boil Vegetables

Material :

• one carrot cut into long pieces
• cup green beans cut into medium-sized pieces
• one to two potatoes cut into long slices
• 3 to 4 tbsp water (for boiling vegetables)

Recipe :

• Wash all the vegetables first.
• Now turn on the gas and put the cooker on the gas.
• After that put water in the cooker and boil them for one to two whistles.
• Keep in mind that the vegetables should not boil completely, but should be a little hard.
• Then turn off the gas and when the pressure is released from the cooker, take out the vegetables in a bowl.
• Now let the vegetables cool down.
• When the vegetables cool down, filter the water and set it aside.
• Half boiled vegetable finger food is ready for the baby.

Note: You can also include other green vegetables present in the house like cauliflower, broccoli, peas in this recipe.

3. Aloo Paratha

Material :

• one to two potatoes
• one cup wheat flour
• butter as needed

Recipe :

• First boil the potatoes and mash them well.
• Then mix it with wheat flour and prepare the dough by adding water.
• Now roll it into a small round shape.
• Then put a tawa on the gas and heat it.
• When the tawa becomes hot, put butter in it.
• Now place the paratha in the pan and cook it on medium flame.
• When the paratha is cooked well, take it out.
• In this way, hot potato parathas are ready.

Finger foods can provide nutrition to the baby as well as help in improving their motor skills. Not only this, a child learns to use his hands to eat with the help of finger food. Therefore, it should be started in children at the right time. In this article, we have told about when to give finger food to children, how to give it and some easy recipes. At the same time, while consuming finger food, keep in mind the precautions mentioned in the article. We hope that this article proves helpful to you. Stay connected with Stylecrase to read more such articles on baby health.