Grape

6 months old +:

Offer grapes that have been cooked until they have burst or blended into a sauce. You can offer the cooked grapes on their own, or mix them into other soft foods for baby to scoop, like ricotta cheese, warm cereal, or yogurt. Small, soft seeds do not increase the choking risk, but if the grapes have large or firm seeds, remove them before serving.

9 months old +:

Offer quartered grapes (cut lengthwise from stem to bottom). When buying grapes for baby, choose large, oblong ones instead of small, round ones, if possible. If baby is having a hard time picking up the quartered pieces, wait a couple more weeks or continue to cook grapes until soft and burst, then stir into a scoopable food. Small, soft seeds do not increase the choking risk, but if the grapes have large or firm seeds, remove them before serving.

12 months old +:

Offer halved grapes (cut lengthwise from stem to bottom) for the child to pick up independently, or continue to serve quartered grapes (cut lengthwise) as desired. Small, soft seeds do not increase the choking risk, but if the grapes have large or firm seeds, remove them before serving. When sharing quartered or halved grapes with toddlers, choose large, oblong ones instead of small, round ones, if possible.

24 months old +:

Note that because whole grapes are a choking hazard, most health advisory bodies do not recommend offering them until age four. However, it is our strong opinion that children should be taught how to safely manage challenging foods early on, well before they are offered these foods outside of your care. When you feel the child has mature eating skills (moves food around in the mouth well, chews food before swallowing, etc.), consider offering whole grapes in a safe and supervised setting. If you have not yet offered grapes halved lengthwise, you may want to begin with this size before progressing.

When serving whole grapes, find large, oblong ones (not the small, rounder ones), keep them on the stem (this slows down the process and discourages the child from overstuffing their mouth), and provide lots of modeling and coaching. We suggest demonstrating chewing with the molars prior to offering the grape: open your mouth, place the grape on your teeth and explain “I am using my big teeth to crush this grape.” You may want to consider holding the grape for the child to practice biting—hold at the corner of the mouth and allow the child to close their teeth on the grape. Coach the child to push hard to break through the grape skin and bite off a piece of the grape. You can make a big deal about the fun squish and squirt that happens when they chew through it. Do not offer whole grapes if the child is not sitting at the table and supervised until you are confident that the child will chew and swallow without coaching. Small, soft seeds do not increase the choking risk, but if the grapes have large or firm seeds, remove them before serving.