The Importance of Advancing Textures: How to Transition to Finger Foods

Learn how to transition to finger foods and why it’s important to add textures as your baby advances in their feeding journey.

Why Advancing Textures Matters

If a baby starts solids exclusively with purees and does not progress to more textured foods by 8-9 months of age, they may have an increased risk of gagging and difficulty learning to chew. This is because the gag reflex, which initially activates toward the front of the mouth, moves further back as the baby grows.1

Research shows that babies who begin feeding with traditional spoon-fed purees but do not advance in texture by around 10 months are more likely to develop picky eating habits and feeding difficulties as toddlers.

Read also: Learn How to Offer Foods Safely with BLW

By age 2, many of these children may still rely on blended or pureed foods and struggle to eat solid textures. As a result, their diet often consists mostly of milk (formula, toddler milk, or cow’s milk), which can lead to nutritional imbalances and continue feeding problems.

Signs of Feeding Challenges Due to Delayed Texture Progression

• Gagging or retching when attempting to eat finger foods or lumpier un-smooth textures
• Spitting out food repeatedly instead of chewing and swallowing
• Holding food in their mouth for long periods of time- food pocketing
• Refusing foods with lumps or mixed textures

This can create stressful mealtimes for both the child and their caregivers. In many cases, parents may unintentionally reinforce the cycle by offering more milk and soft foods immediately instead of providing opportunities to practice chewing. This can potentially create a food refusal cycle where the child waits.

The Importance of Chewing and Oral Development

A lack of chewing experience can impact swallowing skills and even affect speech development since eating plays a key role in strengthening the orofacial muscles involved in both eating and speaking. Encouraging chewing with a variety of food textures helps babies refine their oral motor skills for proper eating patterns.^2-4

If feeding difficulties persist, seeking support from a multidisciplinary team—including a pediatric dietitian, speech-language pathologist, and occupational therapist—can be beneficial.

How Food Texture Affects Self-Regulation

Another important factor in feeding development is self-regulation around food.

Chewing solid foods engages oral sensory receptors and prolongs the eating process, allowing more time for satiety signals to reach the brain.

In contrast, consuming purees requires less chewing and can lead to faster intake, potentially reducing the body’s ability to recognize fullness cues. Research suggests that increased oral processing time enhances satiety and may help regulate appetite more effectively.

When babies eat purees that combine multiple ingredients, individual flavors are blended together, making it harder for them to distinguish and respond to specific tastes and flavors over a long period of time.

Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) and progressing to finger foods allows infants to explore foods separately, helping them recognize how different foods satisfy their hunger. This approach may support better self-regulation of appetite and satiety.

How to Transition to Finger Foods

Transitioning to solids is simpler than it seems, but it requires patience and consistency.

1. Trust your baby’s ability to explore and chew foods. Gagging is a normal reflex as they learn to manage different textures.
2. Gradually progress food textures until they can eat the same meals as the rest of the family.
3. Follow expert recommendations. AAP and Canadian Paediatric Society as well as NHS recommend that by 12 months, babies should be eating the same textures as the family, with modifications for safety.

However, some foods require special preparation to reduce choking risks. You can find more details in the Gagging vs. Choking section.

Transitioning to Finger Foods by Age

6-8 Months

If you started with mashed foods for only a few days or weeks and your baby is between 6-8 months old, you can begin offering soft, stick-shaped foods following BLW principles. Learn more about safe food cuts and textures in our app.

9+ Months

If your baby is 9 months or older and has only eaten pureed or very soft foods, they need a structured transition to solids. This process starts with them learning how to chew, which introduces more texture in a safe and gradual way (explained in the next section). Or you can also begin with large soft stick-shapes.

12+ Months

If your child is over 1 year old (or even 2 years old) and you’re just learning about BLW, don’t worry! You can still transition them to solids using the same steps. However, older toddlers may take longer to adjust to textures and self-feeding.

Patience and a gradual approach are key. Respect your child’s pace and developmental readiness to help them build confidence with new foods.

For a step-by-step guide to solid food transitions and all developmental stages, visit the “learning how to chew” section in our BLW Meals app. Download now for a free 14-day trial!

References

1. FANGUPO, L. J. et al. A Baby-Led Approach to Eating Solids and Risk of Choking. Pediatrics, v. 138, 2016. Retrieved from: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/138/4/e20160772/52372/A-Baby-Led-Approach-to-Eating-Solids-and-Risk-of?redirectedFrom=fulltext. Retrieved on February 24th,  2024.

2. MORRIS, S. E.; KLEIN, M. D. Pre-feeding skills: A comprehensive resource for feeding development. Tucson, Ariz: Therapy Skill Builders, 1987.

3. FERNANDO, N.; POTOCK, M. Raising a healthy, happy eater: a parent’s handbook– a stage-by-stage guide to setting your child on the path to adventurous eating. New York, NY: The Experiment, LLC, 2015.

4. BROWN, A.; LEE, M. D. Early influences on child satiety-responsiveness: the role of weaning style. Pediatric Obesity, v. 10, p. 57–66, 2015.

5.Forde, C. G., van Kuijk, N., Thaler, T., de Graaf, C., & Martin, N. (2017). Oral processing characteristics of solid savoury meal components, and relationship with food composition, sensory attributes, and expected satiation. Appetite, 113, 248-258.