finger foods for 4 month old?

[Zada]

hi, my boy is 4 months now, he has been on solids for about 3 weeks. He loves sucking on rusks and basically trying to feed himself! Is there any finger foods that are safe to give him at his age?

[the pero clinic]

Dear Zada,

To answer your question simply, the answer is no – finger foods are not safe to give to young babies.

It is recommended that purees are not introduced to bubs before the age of 6 months when they are ready for solids with their mouths and tummies. I would like to encourage you only offer your little boy purees such as rice cereal, apple and pear at this stage, so he is not at an increased risk of developing food allergies or overloading his digestive or kidney system.

It’s lovely that your bub is so interested in food and eating, but he will not yet have the oral skills for safely managing finger foods. Bubs do not have the tongue and chewing movements necessary to process and safely swallow soft lumps until they are around 7 months of age.

Before these skills develop, a solid piece of finger food (that can be reflexively and accidentally bitten off by a young bub) pose a large choking risk. Infants’ windpipes are very small (the diameter of a pencil) and pieces of food can very easily become stuck – causing babies to choke and stop breathing.

Please wait until your baby has learnt to chew and swallow lumpy and mashed purees before offering finger foods. Although he has been exposed to solids early, your bub may still not develop these skills for a few months yet.

the pero clinic