Food Guide > Healthy Eating for Babies Age 6-12 Months > Building Healthy Eating Habits > What are finger foods and why are they important?
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A finger food is any small piece of food that your baby can pick up and bring to their mouth. Babies will develop the skill to pick up food at different ages, but offer finger foods at six months. This will help your baby learn to feed themselves and to chew.
Most babies enjoy touching food and eating with their hands. It is part of how they learn about new foods – how foods look, feel, smell and taste. Examples of finger foods include:
- Cooked tender meat, ground or cut into very small pieces
- Cooked beans and other legumes such as lentils and chickpeas (cut up larger types of beans)
- Cooked vegetables, cut into very small pieces or strips
- Soft, ripe, (or soft-cooked) peeled fruits cut into very small pieces or strips (e.g. bananas, pears, peaches, plums, cantaloupe or kiwi)
- Grapes and strawberries (or other large berries) do not have to be peeled, but should be cut into quarters lengthwise and then into smaller pieces as needed
- Strips of toast, bread crusts and crackers
- Unsweetened whole grain cold cereals.
- Cut-up cooked pasta
- Grated cheese
