Soft Veg Sticks

What you need

• soft cooked vegetables: carrot or sweet potato sticks steamed until they squash easily between your finger and thumb, and broccoli florets with a short stalk, left to cool
• their plate or bowl

How to do it

1. At a meal, put them in their highchair with the straps done up, and sit beside them.
2. Put three or four pieces on their plate: finger-length veg sticks and a broccoli floret with a stalk.
3. Eat a stick yourself, then see what they do with theirs.
4. Add a few more when the plate is empty, and take away what is left when they finish.

Why it matters

Sticks and stalks fit a small fist, so getting the food to their mouth, and deciding how much, is theirs to do.

What they're learning

Feeding themselves

Picking food up and getting it to their own mouth.

Biting and chewing

Gumming and biting soft pieces of different shapes.

Eating together

Watching you eat the same food at the same time.

What to look for

Notice them turning a stick in their hand to get the end to their mouth.

A tip

Let the vegetables cool before you serve them, then press a piece between your finger and thumb: if it does not squash easily, cook it longer. Never give raw carrot sticks at this age. Stay right beside them the whole time they eat, with the straps done up and them sitting upright, never walking about or lying back with food.

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