Are cheerios really safe for an 8 month old?

Question

Is Cheerios really safe for my 8 month old. She has to bottom teeth and one coming in up top. But i am scared to give them to her thinking she may choke. Is there anyone that has any reassurance. Because it sure would be alot cheaper than those cans of veggi or fruit puffs. She does really good with food, but are cheerios dissolvable fast enough?

Answer 1

YES! Cheerios are great for little ones. My kids were eating everything by 9 months. Even with no teeth. Make sure the baby is good at gumming up food and she'll do fine. Cheerios are a favorite I think!

Answer 2

consult your doctor. i your baby's teeth are coming in, or some of them already have, solids like cheerios will be safe for her soon. my sister let her baby have them when he was almost nine months. if your baby just reached the 8 month period, than its a good idea to check in with your baby's pediatrician. try breaking up the cheerios into littler pieces if you are worried that she'll choke and want to give them to her.

Answer 3

i just started my 8 month old daughter on cherrios she was eating almost two contanors of puffs a week, so cherios are way cheaper, she eats them very well, i was also scared of her choking, which she did i put about 5-6 on her tray and she put them all in her mouth at the same time, so now i only put two or three, i would do that if i were you till your child gets use to them, good luck

Answer 4

My 9 month old would gag and end up with them towards the back of his throat. He wouldn't choke, but a good way to start with cheerios is to but milk on them first.

Answer 5

What are finger foods?
Just about any bite-size piece of food that your baby can pick up and eat by himself could qualify as a finger food. Not only is eating finger food fun for your baby, it's an important early step toward independence that also helps him develop his fine motor skills and coordination.
Food play can get messy, but don't be too quick with the washcloth: Let your baby enjoy this important hands-on learning experience.
When should I introduce finger foods?
When your baby's between 7 and 9 months old, he'll probably let you know that he's ready to start feeding himself — by grabbing the spoon you're feeding him with or snatching food off your plate.

At first, your baby may just rake food into his hand and bring it to his mouth, but eventually he'll figure out how to use his thumb and forefinger to pick up food. This fine motor skill milestone is called the pincer grasp.

How should I introduce the finger food?
Simply scatter four or five pieces of finger food onto your baby's highchair tray or an unbreakable plate. You can add more as your baby eats them.

Feeding your baby in a highchair rather than in a car seat or stroller will reduce the risk of choking and teach him that a highchair is the place to eat.

Which foods make the best finger foods?
Your baby may have a good appetite, but he probably doesn't have many teeth, so start with foods that he can gum or that will dissolve easily in his mouth. As he grows into a toddler, you'll be able to give him bite-size pieces of whatever you're eating.

Remember that your baby's learning about food's texture, color, and aroma as he feeds himself, so try to offer him a variety. The food should be easy to handle but not present a choking hazard. And be sure to choose food that's appropriate for his age.

Here's a list of finger food favorites:
• O-shaped toasted oat cereal or other low-sugar cereal
• Lightly toasted bread or bagels (spread with vegetable puree for extra vitamins)
• Small chunks of banana or other very ripe peeled and pitted fruit, like mango, plum, pear, peach, cantaloupe, or seedless watermelon
• Small cubes of tofu
• Well-cooked pasta spirals, cut into pieces
• Very small chunks of cheese
• Chopped hard-boiled egg (after 12 months)
• Cut-up raisins, softened dried apricots, or stewed prunes
• Small pieces of well-cooked vegetables, like carrots, peas, zucchini, potato, or sweet potato
• Small well-cooked broccoli or cauliflower "trees"
• Pea-size pieces of cooked chicken or other soft meat
• Rice cakes or crackers broken into small pieces

Answer 6

Cheerios are a secure finger nutrition for an 8mo who has been ingesting solids. they're sufficiently small so they won't bloke her windpipe, yet she will gag a lot if she hasn't all started mashing her nutrition yet. attempt the Gerber puffs or halving the cheerios/softening them with breast milk/formula first. as quickly as you recognize she will take care of them, placed a handful on her tray and enable her do her ingredient.

Answer 7

She may gag the first couple of times, but now choke. They are too small and have the whole in them and they soften up quickly, so she will be fine, just keep an eye on her.

Answer 8

I have a 10 month old daughter and she has been eating cherrio's for awhile now. Never had a problem with them they dissolve quick and there one of her favorites. And as always when a baby is eating be close by just incase you do run into problems.

Answer 9

She can chew fine with or without teeth, and likely will just suck on them. Also babies will spit out anything that they can't chew, unless placed with a spoon or fork too far back in their mouth.

Make sure it isn't the honey nut cheerios though. Honey and nuts aren't a good idea for babies under one.

Check out:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html
Won’t he choke?
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have learnt to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get the food into his mouth in the first place. On the other hand, the action used to suck food off a spoon tends to take the food straight to the back of the mouth, causing gagging. This means that spoon feeding has its own potential to lead to choking – and makes the giving of lumpy foods with a spoon especially dangerous.

It appears that a baby’s general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to ‘help’ the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid feeding takes place at the right pace for him. This process is also what keeps him safe from choking on small pieces of food, since, if he is not yet able to pick up small objects using his finger and thumb, he will not be able to get, for example, a pea or a raisin into his mouth. Once he is able to do this, he will have developed the necessary oral skills to deal with it. Putting foods into a baby’s mouth for him overrides this natural protection and increases the risk of choking.

Tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods is dangerous. A baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position. In this way, food which he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth, not backwards into his throat.

Adopting a baby-led approach doesn’t mean abandoning all the common sense rules of safety. While it is very unlikely that a young baby would succeed in picking up a peanut, for example, accidents can and will happen on rare occasions – however the baby is fed. Rules of safety which apply in other play situations should therefore be adhered to when eating is in progress.

Answer 10

I put warm milk (formula or breastmilk) on them and they go pretty soggy. At 8 months my little girl had no teeth at all and still managed!!! I'm sure she'll be fine, just keep and eye on her. I give them to her as a breakfast cereal, not a finger food.