Advice and resources : Developing early chewing skills

Make sure they have head control and can sit unsupported before giving them finger foods. If they have additional needs, please seek advice from your child’s relevant professionals.

Make sure they can easily reach the finger foods and bring it up to their mouths on their own.

Read your child’s cues. If they show you they are not ready to have the next mouthful/bite, wait until they give you a signal they are ready.

Let them get messy and do not wipe their hands unless they’re clearly unhappy.

Try placing the food/spoon to the side of your child’s mouth, between their cheek and gums. This is where they chew. It helps children learn to move food across in their mouth and it keeps food in their mouth longer, so it is easier to swallow.

Prepare soft foods in finger shaped pieces to aid your child’s ability to grasp them. Examples include well-cooked vegetables (potato, carrot, swede, broccoli), ripe peeled soft fruit (pear, avocado, banana), hardboiled eggs, soft cheese, and well-cooked pasta.

Consider dipping teething toys and chewy tubes, to help your child chew with different parts of their mouths while tasting at the same time. You can also do this with food teethers (long, hard sticks of food that won't break as baby munches, such as mango pit or thick celery sticks) and bite-dissolve foods (melty sticks/puffs/wafers).

As they become more confident, try soft cooked meat and fish (avoid processed meat such as ham or sausages as these can be high in salt), breadsticks, crackers, toast, and pitta bread.

Provide plenty of fresh plain water, from a beaker or cup with a free-flow lid.

Do not hide/disguise food to trick them. It is important for your child to be aware and in control of what is happening while eating and drinking.

Do not give your baby food that hasn't been cut up into bite-sized pieces.

Avoid the most challenging textures or foods which require lots of chewing, for example, food with skins (apples, sausages), with husks (sweetcorn), that are hard or crunchy (raw carrot), that are tough and stringy (steak, pineapple), or food that has a mixed texture (thin soup with chunks).

Avoid chunks of hard fruit and veg, such as raw apple or carrot (try grating them instead).

Avoid whole grapes and small hard foods, such as nuts or popcorn, as these can be a choking hazard.