When Should a Child Eat Cheerios??

My daughter is almost 8 months old. She started eating Cheerios around 7 months. She got two teeth at 6 months but I still worry about her choking on anything. When she eats them, she sits in her highchair and I only put one in front of her. I don't give her any more until that one is gone. They do dissolve quite quickly so I am starting to relax a little bit. I would give them to her even if she didn't have teeth because I have noticed that she doesn't use her teeth at all when she eats them.

hello A.
i alway gave mine cheerio when they could sit up straight in there high chair they melt good if they still make you nervous gerber make fruit puff that disolve in the mouth they have fruit and vegtable one good luck

I think it depends on the child. I would try giving her a few and see how she handles them...if she gags on them and can't seem to mash them up with her gums then she is not ready. If she seems to be fine with them I would continue giving them to her and just make sure she is seated and watch her closely while she is eating them.

hi,
i totaly agree with u 7 1/2 month is too soon for cheerios! I started giving them to my children after they turn a year old. I can totally understand your fear. GO WITH YOUR INNTUITION

if your daughter can put the cheerio in her mouth with her own hand- then she is old enough to eat it.

cheerios have whole in thmiddle so she wont choke on it...

try a couple and see how it goes. if she gags on it.. wait a week and try it again.

Hi- I also find that I am very nervous when giving my child food that she can choke on. A good solution for me was a food for toddlers called puffs. They are just like cherrios, but dissolve in their mouth. I guess if you decide to go with cherrios maybe just break them in half.

Go with your gut feeling. Don't feel rushed into anything because of other people telling you what to do. I struggle with this alot with my mother-n-law.

Good luck.

I have been giving my daughter Cheerios since she was about 6 or 6 1/2 months. I gave her the whole thing, but I fed them to her one at a time. She is going to be 8 months on the 15th and is feeding her self with them. I'm amazed at how quickly she demolishes them :)

I think my daughter was about the same age that your daughter is now. I was nervous too, but talked to my child's primary care provider and she suggested that I throw a cheerio into the toilet and watch it dissolve. Children don't need teeth to break down cheerios. They break down by themselves as long as they get wet. This settled my fears and my daughter never had any problems with cheerios (She's now 2 years old).

Hope this helps

I think my son was around a year old. If she seems to handle them okay, and you are right there with her, though, might as well go with it. My son preferred those Gerber Graduates cereal squares himself.

Hi A.,

I can't remember exactly when my son started eating cheerios (he is now 20 months old!) I felt more comfortable giving him those Gerber Fruit / Veggie Puffs first, since they actually dissolve in the mouth. I think once he mastered those, I tried giving him half a cheerio to see how he could handle it, and didn't move on to a full cheerio until he mastered the half. I do think he was closer to 9 months old when he started eating them pretty good, although I could be mistaken! It's all just a matter of trial and error, and seeing how well your daughter can handle it!

My twins are 9 months and they have been eating Cherrios and other little things since they started to lift their belly off the floor. They say that's a good sign they wont choke on them and we haven't had any problems with them. They also do not have any teeth yet, so it's not a probblem for them to "gum" it.

Dear A.:

I would wait until your daughter has a full set of teeth so she don't choke on them.

Sandy R.

I started my kids on the fruit puffs(by gerber) at 6months. then i brokr cherrios in half for awhile then whole.

My son is 7 1/2 months also. Alot of people kept asking me if he has done the cheerios yet, and I was nervous too. So, I started him on the puffs around 6 months, and they were amazed by them. Your aunt probably just doesn't know about that stuff since they never had that. The puffs are great. They dissolve in his mouth, and it has taught him to chew. You might want to try the biscuits too. They get real soggy when chewed on also, but they are not so small that the kids can't pick them up or choke on them. I think it helps them to learn to feed themselves as well.

Hi~

You could soak the cheerios in formula, water etc. for a couple seconds so they're a little mushy. That way your baby can still pick up the cheerios and get the hang of it and you don't have to worry about her choking. Also, I also started with rice krispy cereal too...they dissolve quickly and are small.

Every parent and child are different. My oldest was eating hard candy at 8 months, but at 18 months, I am still nervous giving my youngest anything that is not easily chewable. If you go by the teeth thing, my kids would not have eaten solid food until 14 or 15 months.

When ever you give your child a "new food" watch closely the first few times to check for choking. I she does well, then you should be okay. If she seems to have problems, hold off for a few more weeks. There is no science to transitioning from baby food to solids. God gave you a gut instinct for a reason, follow it.

A., I would start her out with the Gerber snacks first (Fruit & Veggie Puffs) rather than cheerios. They are more dissolvable than cheerios and I think they actually have a little more nutrients in them as well... here is a link to the page: http://www.gerber.com/toddlersite?tmsdir=food&tmspage...
or, you can just go to www.gerber.com. Also, register and they will send you coupons in the mail! ; )
And as far as timing goes, when your baby can crawl and reach for food and sit up well, they say they are usually ready for these kinds of snacks. Hope the advice helps!!

Hi, I have a 9 month old and I just started feeding him cheerios and those little veggie and fruit puffs (Meijer brand). He loves them!! I was so scared to try them before, I thought he would choke. But in hindsight I think I could have tried them before. I used to break the puffs in like 4 little pieces. I'd say try them. My son just gums his and they seem to mush up fine in his mouth! Good luck!

I can't remember cheerios exactly, but I know that by 9mo both of my kids were eating a variety of finger foods. Cheerios were one of the first so it was probably around 8mo or younger. The teeth thing does not matter because we chew in the back of our mouth and kids don't get those until much later. The first foods they eat are just gummed :) Cheerios dissolve very easily and the plain kind are very healthy too!!! Perfect first food. Just watch her very closely at first and make sure she only has one in her mouth at a time and she should be fine.

I think it all depends upon the child. All children develop differently. If they can mash, I think if you might be fine, but I would start with Gerber's rice puffs first. They disolve once they enter your baby's mouth. This gets them into finger foods, before Cheerios can be introduced!