SAFE FROM
6 months
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age.
CDCCDCAAP
| Age | Can they have it? | How to serve it |
|---|---|---|
| 4 months | Wait | Not yet — see above. |
| 6 months | Yes | Pasteurized, without added sugars — soft or grated finely, or melted into another food. |
| 9 months | Yes | Grated or cut into short thin strips. Large chunks of cheese, and string cheese in particular, are choking hazards. |
| 12 months | Yes | Short thin strips, pieces no larger than half an inch — never round chunks or a whole stick of string cheese. |
| 18 months | Yes | Short thin strips, pieces no larger than half an inch — never round chunks or a whole stick of string cheese. |
| 2 years | Yes | Short thin strips, pieces no larger than half an inch — never round chunks or a whole stick of string cheese. |
FROM 6 MONTHS
Pasteurized, without added sugars — soft or grated finely, or melted into another food.
FROM 9 MONTHS
Grated or cut into short thin strips. Large chunks of cheese, and string cheese in particular, are choking hazards.
FROM 12 MONTHS
Short thin strips, pieces no larger than half an inch — never round chunks or a whole stick of string cheese.
Cut food for infants and young children into pieces no larger than one-half inch. Cut cylindrical foods (hot dogs, sausage, string cheese) into short thin strips — round pieces can get stuck in the airway. Cut small spherical foods (grapes, cherries, berries, tomatoes) into small pieces. Cook hard vegetables and fruit until they mash easily. Remove seeds, hard pits, skin and bones.
Yes — Cheese is one of the foods the AAP and CDC name on their choking-hazard lists. The danger is almost always the shape rather than the food itself, which is why the serving form above is the whole answer. Cut everything to no larger than half an inch, cut cylindrical foods into short thin strips rather than rounds, and quarter anything round.
Cheese is one of the common allergens (cow's milk). The current AAP guidance is to introduce it EARLY rather than delay it: newer research found no benefit to waiting, and for peanut, waiting can increase the chance of an allergy. Offer a small amount in an infant-safe form, watch for a reaction, and then keep it in the diet regularly. If your baby has severe or persistent eczema, or has already had an immediate allergic reaction to a food, especially egg, talk to your pediatrician first about how and when to introduce it.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips or tongue.
It must be pasteurized. Cut cylindrical foods like string cheese into short thin strips: round pieces can get stuck in a child's airway.
Getting your kitchen ready for solids? These are the feeding sets, first-foods spoons and storage containers parents actually reach for — general baby gear, not the food on this page, and nothing here changes the answer above.
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Ad · Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you. It links to general baby-feeding gear, never the food on this page, and it never changes our answer.
If you are working through the Common allergens group, the same serving and allergen questions come up for peanut butter, sesame and tahini and whole nuts and seeds. Each one has its own introduction age and choking guidance — they are not interchangeable.
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age. It must be pasteurized. Cut cylindrical foods like string cheese into short thin strips: round pieces can get stuck in a child's airway.
From 6 months: Pasteurized, without added sugars — soft or grated finely, or melted into another food. From 9 months: Grated or cut into short thin strips. Large chunks of cheese, and string cheese in particular, are choking hazards. From 12 months: Short thin strips, pieces no larger than half an inch — never round chunks or a whole stick of string cheese.
Cheese is on the AAP and CDC choking-hazard lists. Cut food into pieces no larger than half an inch, cut cylindrical foods into short thin strips rather than rounds, and cut small round foods into small pieces. Keep the highest-risk foods away until at least 4 years, judged on your own child.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Offer one single-ingredient new food at a time and wait 3 to 5 days before the next one, so a reaction is easy to trace. The emergency signs are at the top of this page.