[sak9645]

Do remember that a child should not snack unless sitting quietly. Finger food is great, but when your child is old enough to crawl or walk, don't let her take food around the house, as almost anything can be a choking hazard if it "goes down wrong".

Yogurt is a great snack for many children; however, your daughter is probably too young to feed herself with a spoon, so you would have to feed her.

Pudding is also good for getting calcium into a child. Try making your own, rather than using the excessively sweet prepared kind.

Any well-cooked veggies, such as carrots or green beans, can be used as finger food. Just make sure that they are soft enough to be "gummed"; in other words, cook them till they are way too soft for an adult who likes veggies "al dente."

Cheerios are excellent finger food, even for toothless kids. Just remember that they are fairly high in fiber, and that too many of them can cause poop explosions. Also, discourage your child from putting too many in her mouth at once.

Cut up almost any seedless fresh fruit into tiny bits (for example, the size of a quarter of a grape) and let your daughter snack away. Many kids will like bits of melon, for example. Fresh fruit is preferable to juice, which does not add fiber.

If you bake, try things like banana bread or zucchini bread -- in other words, things that taste like cake but have some good fruits or veggies in them, not just starches.

There is no hard and fast rule that says snack foods can't be the same as those you might serve for dinner or breakfast. So if your child wants a few bits of shredded chicken, left over from last night's dinner, that's fine. Bits of scrambled egg are also good for protein.

Don't introduce too many new foods at once. That way, if your child should have an allergic reaction, you'll know what food needs to be removed from her diet. Also, too many new foods at once can lead to some pretty awful diapers.

Sharon