When to stop cutting up food?

akrajny · January 2014

OK I think I might be in the minority here, but my DS is 14 months and I've still been cutting up his food into tiny pieces for him to eat. He loves animal crackers and we treat those as his "cookies" for dessert after dinner sometimes. I will give him whole ones of those, but I pretty much cut up everything else. I'm so paranoid that he is going to choke that I don't give him anything else whole. It's funny because he will take like 5 pieces of whatever I cut up and shove it in his mouth, I just feel better knowing its already somewhat broken down.

Just curious when you stopped cutting up foods. Well, at least the majority of foods. And what are good foods to start giving "whole" for freaked out moms like me. haha He takes such big bites of everything I get nervous. I tried a banana once, but he ends up putting as much as he can in his mouth and then a huge piece breaks off and its stuck in his mouth!

Thanks!

acbfreire · January 2014

I still cut things for DD (19 months) and will probably do some until she is able to cut her food by herself. I give her long strips of bread and whole water crackers (she takes bites), but anything that is round and "sticky" (bananas, carrots, peanut butter, you get the picture). I still monitor closely.
I would not give her a whole banana yet or grapes, but I give her whole raspberries. She can chew pretty well and she has some molars now.

DiveFrog · January 2014

I still cut most of what DD eats at 19months. Some things we used to cut we have started letting her pick up and take bites of, and some things we used to cut very small I have recently started cutting a little larger. IMO, when your child is ready for this, is partly about when their molars and teeth come in and also how well they chew, and feed themselves.

DD doesn't really stuff her mouth full even if given the opportunity and she is big on chewing her food well. Honestly, she has only ever gagged around 6-8 times while learning to eat/feed herself.

akrajny · January 2014

OK glad to hear that I'm not crazy for doing it. My wonderful MIL loves to tell me all the time "we never used to cut up like that", "just let the kid eat it, he's fine". Thank you

BLPL101 · January 2014

My mom was a toddler teacher for many years (taught 12-24 mon) and she cut up all their food into small pieces so that's what I am doing

jnnfrrose6 · January 2014

Same as others. We're still cutting up food for DS, but we do cut larger pieces now that he's got more teeth. He also really likes to eat with a fork, so if it's cut into pieces for him, it's easier for him to eat this way. DS will jam as much food into his mouth as possible sometimes, so we try to pay attention to that, but I figure that's better than him being picky and not eating what's in front of him.
Fruit is probably the only thing we don't cut up for him at this point (except for the obvious bigger fruit like apples). We don't even have to cut up bananas for him at this point.

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a550571 · January 2014

I stopped cutting up DD's food really small when her molars came in. About 2 weeks after they were in, we started "experimenting". For the most part, she does pretty well. There are some things that she tries shoving in rapidly like pasta or chicken nuggets, but we found that if it's in big piece like grilled cheese she takes her time and takes little bites. So we stopped cutting up chicken nuggets and she is doing much better with those. The pasta is still an issue, but we just move the bowl away from her if she takes too much. Then she will work with what she has and once she finishes it we will give the bowl back. We also give her a baby fork and that helps her space out her bites because she spends some time getting her bites on the fork.

wesleycrusher · January 2014

I don't cut up much. I give DD a whole banana at a time, although I usually break it in half and give two pieces. I definitely cut up grapes, hot dogs, cherry tomatoes and meat that she can't bite off though. Otherwise nothing crazy.

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AimeeL85 · January 2014

Bananas are actually one of the biggest choking hazards, you don't hear about that much but it's true, so don't feel silly for cutting them up.

My DD is almost 13 months and I still pretty much cut everything. At 15 months with my DS I probably still did too, except for some bigger softer things maybe (like breads/muffins). I know I pobably err on the conservative side for this but with DD I don't even think about it or wonder if I'm doing it right anymore, I just go with my gut and know that it won't be long before she's eating normally/picking things up. I know I did it the same with DS and it worked, so I don't worry!

this decaf life · January 2014

DD only has 4 very small teeth so I'm still cutting up her food. I know she does a pretty good job chewing but I'm too nervous. I only tried bigger sticks of food and she tried to tried to shove the whole thing in her mouth and it freaked me out.

ashiscute · January 2014

I cut both my kids food but not into tiny pieces. My DD (almost 3) has oral sensory issues so she stores food in her mouth sometimes and does other dangerous things from time to time. So I'm probably more cautious with DS than I need to be. I cut up grapes for sure and a few other things. It honestly never occurred to me to smash a pea.

OP just make sure the pieces are large enough that your LO is learning to take bites, chew, and swallow. It's scary for sure but the goal is for them to learn.

smileybabyboy · January 2014

We still cut up DS's food (16 months old). Sometimes he bites the food and sometimes he shoves the whole thing in his mouth and lately he's been choking a lot. I just bought these Fun Bites and I love them! It's so much faster to cut up everything https://www.funbites.com/

smileybabyboy · January 2014

No he's been choking. He tends to not chew his food much and just swallows it. Gagging consists of coughing. DS will choke and there won't be any sound coming from him and his eyes well up with tears as he's trying to breathe. It's so scary. Luckily we can usually pull the food out or it comes up on its own.

tifdaski84 · January 2014

We don't really cut anything up any more at 19 months. We still cut grapes and we'll cut a larger piece of meat into bite-sized chunks for him, but that's it really. He's been eating strips of pepper, apple slices, whole bananas, cucumber slices, and a lot of other things for a long time now and has never gagged once so I don't really worry about it.

g8trkim · January 2014

DS is 14 months and we cut up most of her food. Hell, DS is 3 1/2 and there are some things I still cut up for him.

smileybabyboy · January 2014

Nicb13 said:

@Starbuck128 I also appreciate your thorough answer although I'm sorry you felt you had to defend yourself so vehemently.
I have major allergies to nuts and almost died when I was 6 so I get that aspect. I've given DS peanut butter multiple times but my stomach still clenches each time he takes a bite, despite knowing how ridiculous it is and that he did not get my allergies so far.
He's also choked on a bite of a cheese quesadilla and DH had to do the Heimlich so I get how scary it is.
In the end, parents just have to do what they feel is best for their child and their situation, no matter how silly it seems to outsiders.

well said! I agree.

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