SAFE FROM
6 months
Yes, from about 6 months, once your baby has started solids — served in the right form for their age.
CDCCDC
| Age | Can they have it? | How to serve it |
|---|---|---|
| 4 months | Wait | Not yet — see above. |
| 6 months | Yes | Pit removed (the CDC says to remove seeds and hard pits from fruit), then mashed or pureed. |
| 9 months | Yes | Pitted and quartered — the CDC names uncut cherries as a choking hazard. |
| 12 months | Yes | Pitted, quartered, pieces no larger than half an inch. |
| 18 months | Yes | Pitted, quartered, pieces no larger than half an inch. |
| 2 years | Yes | Pitted, quartered, pieces no larger than half an inch. |
FROM 6 MONTHS
Pit removed (the CDC says to remove seeds and hard pits from fruit), then mashed or pureed.
FROM 9 MONTHS
Pitted and quartered — the CDC names uncut cherries as a choking hazard.
FROM 12 MONTHS
Pitted, quartered, pieces no larger than half an inch.
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 — Cherries are 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.
Cherries are not one of the common allergens. Introduce it on its own anyway and wait 3 to 5 days before the next new food, so if your baby does react to something you know what it was.
Watch for diarrhea, rash, vomiting or hives after a new food. Call 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face, lips or tongue.
The pit is the first hazard, the round shape is the second. Both have to be dealt with.
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.
Baby feeding & food-storage essentials on Amazon ↗
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 Fruit group, the same serving and allergen questions come up for strawberries, peaches and canned fruit. 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. The pit is the first hazard, the round shape is the second. Both have to be dealt with.
From 6 months: Pit removed (the CDC says to remove seeds and hard pits from fruit), then mashed or pureed. From 9 months: Pitted and quartered — the CDC names uncut cherries as a choking hazard. From 12 months: Pitted, quartered, pieces no larger than half an inch.
Cherries are 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.