Finger foods are small pieces of food that children can pick up and eat by themselves. From around 8 months, small, soft pieces of fruit are good for finger foods. Start with pear, banana, melon, kiwifruit or avocado.

Small pieces of cooked vegetables make great finger foods too. Try cooked potato, pumpkin, carrot, peas and baby corn. Steam or microwave vegetables, then let them cool.

Serve colourful salad vegetables, like cucumber and capsicum, cut into sticks. Leave the skin on. Some children like to dunk vegetable sticks in ricotta or cottage cheese, hummus, guacamole or tzatziki.

Serve vegetables with small pieces of cooked chicken, meat, skinless and boneless fish, or tofu. If your child is still learning to chew, cut food into pea-sized or smaller pieces.

Peeled and chopped hard-boiled eggs go well with salad vegetables. Small pieces of egg roll go well with diced and steamed vegies. Turn egg roll into omelette by filling it with cheese, peas and grated pumpkin.

Vegetables and wholegrain pasta pieces – either plain or with sauces like bolognaise – are another option. Choose pasta pieces that are easy to hold, like penne, spirals, bow ties or shells. Add grated cheese on top.

Cut strips of pita, pide, roti, chapati, tortilla or sandwich breads. Toast and spread with ricotta or cottage cheese, hummus, guacamole, tzatziki, nut butter, mashed banana or mashed pumpkin.

Try sandwiches on multigrain or wholegrain bread. Fillings could be egg mashed with mayonnaise; avocado and Vegemite; mashed banana; grated apple and peanut butter; or mashed sweet potato and cheese.

Homemade pikelets or pancakes are a nice treat for toddlers. Cook them plain or add extras to the batter – for example, pumpkin puree, fresh or frozen blueberries, or grated zucchini and carrot. Don’t forget to let them cool!