Guide toFood Introduction
| Age | Foods | Mouth Skills |
|---|---|---|
| 0-13 months | Breast/Bottle | |
| 6 months | Introduce straw, thin baby food cereals | Sucks food back, munch pattern, moves tongue to the sides of mouth when food is placed there |
| 7 months | Thin baby food purees / stage 1 | |
| 8 months | Thicker baby foods / stage 2 | |
| 9 months | Soft mashed table foods and table food smooth purees | Able to bring top lip down to clear spoon, moves tongue to sides of the mouth, able to move food from sides to middle |
| 9 months | Hard munchables (raw carrot sticks, jicama, frozen soft pretzels, celery sticks, etc ****not to eat but to explore in mouth***requires close supervision) | Hard munchables help to desensitize mouth, increase jaw strength, and decrease gag reflex |
| 9 1/2 months | Meltable hard solids (Gerber puffs, crackers, graham crackers, yogurt melts, etc) **foods that easily dissolve | With assistance, able to break off small pieces of meltable solids |
| 10 months | Soft cubes (avocado, overcooked squash, bananas, cooked pieces of fruit, kiwi, peas, boiled potatoes, etc)***small pieces (size of green pea/ fruit cocktail cube) | |
| 11 months | Soft mechanical (single texture) (muffins, soft small pasta, deli meats, scrambled eggs) | Can manage foods that break apart in mouth easily |
| 12 months | Mixed textures / soft mechanical stage 3 (mac and cheese, spaghetti) | Clears food off lips, more controlled biting, moves food easily around mouth, rotary chew |
| 13-14 months | Soft table foods ***appropriate size | |
| 15-18 months | Hard mechanicals (cheerios, thin pretzel sticks, saltines, | Chews and swallows firmer foods |
Additional Tips:
- Introduce straw cups and open cups early and avoid sippy cups. You can start by giving your child water through straw used like a pipette and wait for lip closure and suck before releasing water.
- Do not offer Stage 3 foods until around 12 months old.
- Keep trying foods even if your child gags the first times trying. This is a natural response. It can take our mouths ~20 times to know if we like a food. Parents often “give up” on foods too early.
- Never force your child to eat
- Don’t use bribes / rewards for eating (especially with other foods)
- Avoid wiping your child clean in his high chair
- Eat with your child and talk about the foods in positive ways.
- Make eating a fun time! Let your child play with his food and get MESSY! This is how they learn about the foods they are eating.
- Eat with your child and talk about the foods in positive ways.
