As your child gets more teeth, it may be tempting to let him take bites from a larger piece of food, like an apple. But it's best to continue cutting your child's food into pea-size pieces until around age 4.
"Preventing choking is much more important than the inconvenience of having to cut your child's food," says Claudia Gonzalez, a registered dietitian in Miami.
You can give your baby bites of very soft foods – such as mashed sweet potatoes or yogurt – as early as 6 to 9 months. These foods don't present much of a choking hazard because they dissolve quickly in the saliva your baby produces when he gums them.