Children and Young People’s Therapy Service

Finger foods

Finger foods

You have been directed to this information to help you encourage the baby or child you are caring for learn this developmental skill.

If you notice they have closed or fisted hands, please contact the Children and Young People’s Therapy Service for further advice.

If you see no improvement with skills development after 3 months of using this advice sheet, please contact the Children and Young People’s Therapy Service for further advice.
Our telephone advice line is available on telephone number 0303 033 3002, Monday (except bank holidays) – Thursday 9am to 12pm.

Why do some children find this difficult?

Some children may struggle to eat finger foods due to movement or sensory challenges. They may also find it difficult to manage the mouth movements needed to chew larger pieces of food. If you think your child is having difficulty eating or drinking, make sure that they do not eat anything that could cause choking.

If you have seen your child choke, or if you are already receiving support from the Speech and Language Therapy Eating, Drinking and Swallowing team, please contact the Children and Young People’s Therapy Service before you try any of the advice in this information sheet.

What you may see

You may see that the baby or child:

  • dislikes picking up the food or getting their hands messy
  • has difficulty picking up the food
  • may dislike lumpy food (often described as stage 2 foods)
  • struggles to control lumps in their mouth.

Strategies and advice

To encourage movement skills

  • Ensure your baby has head control and is preferably able to sit unsupported. If they are unable to do so due to having special needs, then ensure you have the right seating equipment.
  • Make sure the baby can bring their hands to their mouth to explore objects. If they cannot, please seek advice from the Children and Young People’s Therapy Service.
  • Make sure the baby is seated in a suitable chair which gives them support to keep their body still and use their hands in a controlled way.
  • Offer finger food on a surface within their reach at the right height. The surface should be level with their elbow when sitting unless you are handing it to them.
  • Food should be the right size for their stage of development. Initially they will be using their whole hand to pick up so may struggle to grasp a tiny raisin.

To encourage sensory skills

  • Do not wipe their hands if they are not complaining – expect your baby or child to get messy.
  • Reassure them if they are uncomfortable with the mess. Have a damp flannel or cloth in view and encourage them to touch it if they need to wipe.
  • Try to distract them away from the mess if they are complaining or get messy yourself to show them it is nothing to worry about.
  • Try using foods that do not leave a residue, such as rice cakes or dry cereal.
  • Dry off fruit with a paper towel to take away some of the excess juice that may run down their arms when they are eating.
  • Offer cooked vegetables that may be less sticky than fruit, for example soft cooked carrot sticks, baby sweet corn or courgette pennies.

To encourage development of mouth movements

  • Ensure baby is coping safely with stage 1 or purée food first. Ideally they should also be coping with lumpy or stage 2 foods as well (for 7 to 9 month old babies). Some babies will move on to finger foods before they can cope with lumpy foods.
  • Ensure that baby can move their tongue up and down and spit out to safely cope with melty or soft finger food. Do not offer firmer finger foods until your baby/child can chew well.
  • Foods that melt in the mouth are usually the safest to try if this is the first time. There are a range of snacks made by Organix, Ella’s Kitchen, and Kiddilicious. Always try the food yourself first before offering to your baby to check how easily it melts.
  • Have a drink to hand if they need to clear their mouth between mouthfuls.
  • Consider putting fleshy, juicy foods in a net or silicone fresh food feeder for your child to practise their chewing skills.
  • While biting and chewing is still being developed, be cautious of foods that are a high choking risk such as foods that are firm, chewy, round. This is particularly important with grapes or cherry tomatoes which must be cut up.
  • Try offering lightly toasted wholemeal bread to introduce sandwiches as it is less likely to get stuck in the roof of their mouth.

Examples of finger foods

Bite and dissolve foods include:

  • Organix melty sweetcorn rings, veggie sticks
  • Wotsits, Quavers, Skips or Monster munch
  • Ella’s kitchen melty sticks
  • prawn crackers
  • meringue
  • ice cream wafers
  • sponge finger biscuits

Some of the bite and dissolve foods listed above are foods not normally encouraged in a baby’s diet. However, in babies with feeding difficulties they are recommended in small quantities to help develop chewing skills and tolerance of texture.

Bite and chew easily foods include:

  • ripe peeled avocado
  • soft cooked vegetables, for example. carrot, courgette, sweet potato, swede or broccoli
  • ripe peeled pear, nectarine, banana, or cooked apple
  • tinned mandarins
  • hot dog sausages
  • hard boiled eggs
  • cooked filleted fish
  • grated cheese, cheese triangles
  • tinned ravioli
  • soft sandwiches with smooth fillings such as cheese spread/marmite/hummus
  • rice cakes
  • soft cooked pasta
  • pancakes
  • soft biscuits (such as malted milk)

Bite and stay firm (requires a lot of chewing) include:

  • fresh apple or pear
  • raw vegetables, for example carrot and celery
  • dried fruit, for example raisins or apricots
  • meat, for example ham or chicken slices
  • fish fingers, chicken nuggets
  • sausages
  • toast, breadsticks
  • crackers or cheese biscuits
  • potato crisps
  • hard cheeses

Sauces

You can use these for dipping with any foods listed above:

  • tomato ketchup (low salt/sugar)
  • brown sauce
  • mayonnaise
  • curry sauce
  • guacamole
  • taramasalata
  • sour cream
  • gravy (low salt)
  • cheese sauce
  • lemon curd
  • chocolate spread
  • squirty cream

 

Last reviewed October 2025