10–12 Month Feeding Skills: Chewing, Pincer Grasp, and Safe Finger Foods

By 10-12 months, chewing skills are stronger and the pincer grasp is more refined.

You can now offer:
• Small, bite-sized soft pieces
• Quartered blueberries (squished slightly)
• Small pasta shapes
• Soft-cooked veggie pieces
• Thin strips of meat or shredded chicken

Food should still be soft enough to squash between your fingers, but it doesn’t need to be as large as earlier months.

Avoid whole nuts, hard raw veg, whole grapes, popcorn, or anything firm and round.

You’ll likely see more confident chewing and less dramatic gagging. That’s progression.

Still cut foods appropriately for their developmental stage, and you’ll know best what shapes they can manage with their new skills. Continue to stay present, and let them practise while you show off those big exaggerated mouth movements for them to 

All that crawling, rolling over and sitting is skill building. Eating is yet another arena they have to showcase their skills, and you’re their audience. 💛