chewing problem

coolcat · Jun 24, 2010

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My son is 3 years old (12.5kg) .he doesn’t like eating. He takes food and keeps in his mouth and make a big bolus but doesn’t take food inside. Everyday he does like this. If I tell him to take food inside, he keeps chewing it …so feeding him a meal takes 1-1.5 hours ….
Since starting he had the chewing problem .till 2 years he used to eat only paste food. He used to gag on textures. But after that he started eating adult food. Since 3 months he has started keeping food in his mouth and not taking it inside …what should I do? …he can keep food in his mouth for 2-3 hours. I am really worried for his teeth also. This way his teeth will get cavities.

Does he have some problem in his mouth? He only chews with his right side teeth.

Please help me what can I do to overcome his habit …

mstrue · Jun 25, 2010

coolcat said: ↑

<link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cishaan%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><style>  </style> he can keep food in his mouth for 2-3 hours. I am really worried for his teeth also. This way his teeth will get cavities.

Does he have some problem in his mouth? He only chews with his right side teeth.

…
Click to expand...

CoolCat,
Did you consider any therapy? Did you consult his pediatrician? What does the doc say? Were you recommended Feeding therapy/ Occupational therapy?

You can consult a GI specialist too. Or your ped can recommend 'Barium Swallow' test. The test will ensure if he has any swallowing difficulty or anything physically hindering him from swallowing the food.

Does he have any gross/fine motor delay? How is his left side functioning otherwise..? If he is falling off his growth curve, You need to give this matter a serious consideration and opt for therapies.

coolcat · Jun 25, 2010

hello true!!
thanks for replying ...
Feeding therapy/ Occupational therapy? in india i doubt any such thing occurs? i have not heard anything like it ...all these things are popular in developed countries ....

my son is small eater , starting from the beginning ...he is not loosing weight , nor gaining weight ..he is stuck to 12.5 since jan 2010.

i believe his keeping food is a habit ...and he can eat without keeping large food in his mouth ...

actually now i am getting very frustrated with his habit ...everyday for 3 meals.. it is same story ..every-time sitting with him for 1- 1.5 hour .
i loose my patience many times and times scold and spank him ...

i know i should not do this , but i get hepless ....he has started fearing eating times now ..i want him to learn good eating habits and have a positive attitude towards eating ....

what more a mother wants that his child eats well and develops well ...

mstrue · Jun 25, 2010

coolcat said: ↑

Feeding therapy/ Occupational therapy? in india i doubt any such thing occurs? i have not heard anything like it ...all these things are popular in developed countries .........
actually now i am getting very frustrated with his habit ...everyday for 3 meals.. it is same story ..every-time sitting with him for 1- 1.5 hour .
i loose my patience many times and times scold and spank him ...
i know i should not do this , but i get hepless ....he has started fearing eating times now ..i want him to learn good eating habits and have a positive attitude towards eating ....what more a mother wants that his child eats well and develops well ...
Click to expand...

Dear CoolCat,
I absolutely understand your frustration. But you know this will only backfire on you... He is already beginning to fear/hate mealtimes..
Feeding therapy/OT are nowadays happening in India too. Here is a google search for some centers (I do not know any firsthand info of them though..):occupational therapy center india - Google Search
You may want to google some 'Yahoo Groups' to find similar parents too.

12.5kg for past 6 mons is not that bad.. the average wt gain per yr is around 1 kg or so I think.. he may be on the lower end. Have you ever plotted his weight gain on the growth chart? Let me attach one for you, and you keep track of his weight gain so you know if he falls from his curve - which will be a concern.

You still have not answered some of my questions in the previous post.. feel free to skip them answering on the public forum but find the answers. His chewing on one side - is that a habit or his left side is week is something you got to find out.

Some kids are picky eaters.. is there any food he loves? Does he chew a long time that food too? Hang in there.. I know this will drain the mom.. but it does not hurt to be proactive to find the reason rather writing it off to 'it might be his habit', right? Cheer up CoolCat, he will be fine.

mstrue · Jun 25, 2010

Growth Chart for Boys 2 to 20 yrs old:
Print this out and keep a record to see if he follows the curve. I think he is in 25th percentile or so.. This is for American Kids standard , so dont worry.. for asian kids, 25th percentile is not bad.

coolcat · Jun 25, 2010

thanks true for consoling words ...they mean a lot to me ..

he is otherwise fine ..i feel his eating on right side teeth is only a habit ...he does not have problem with left side ...

thanks for the and height chart ..

he is picky eater ..till now i really dont think i am able to identify things he likes ..someday he eats somethings and another day something else...the only thing i know is salty things he likes ..no sweets, no chocolates , no pastries, no cakes , no ice-creams ...

i really want him to have a positive attitude towards eating ...and not fear meal times ..

ilite · Jun 27, 2010

Hi Coolcat,

Did you feed him pureed food up until he was two years old and is he having this problem only after you started solid form? From your post I guess in between now and when you were feeding him the pureed food he seems to have done fine? Is that the case?

"Since starting he had the chewing problem .till 2 years he used to eat only paste food. He used to gag on textures. But after that he started eating adult food. Since 3 months he has started keeping food in his mouth and not taking it inside …what should I do? …he can keep food in his mouth for 2-3 hours. I am really worried for his teeth also. This way his teeth will get cavities."

How is he with snacks? (chips, cookies, chocolates etc). If he is fine with them, from my experience I would say he just doesn't like the food . With my first DS, I did the pureed food for 2 years and started the adult food really late and I faced this problem. He had to be on multivitamins for a short while as he refused to eat. We had tough time overcoming that , still he is a picky eater. What worked for us was watching the food channels with him a lot and trying out new stuff with having him help around. for eg, getting him to beat the eggs for omlette, trying the sweet omlette instead of sugar, different kinds of cereals (cheerios were his fav at one point), let him wash the chick peas before soaking them etc. Tough one, but worked.

With the second DS(2 1/2 now), started adult food earlier on, (1 year old), just mashed with spoon and started feeding stuff. He seems to be fine but gets this bout of keeping his food in his mouth sometimes (especially when he has a cold or doesn't like the food) and like yours could do it for long if left alone (we force him to spit it out to protect his teeth).

You may want to test his chewing by giving snacks, if he is fine , I assume he just doesn't like the food or is doing it for attention.

Thanks, Mstrue for the chart.

regards,

coolcat · Jun 27, 2010

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Thanks for replying...


Yes I did feed him pureed food till 2 years ...he was just not ready for textures..He used to gag and vomit the previous meal also ….but after that he was fine with adult food. He used to take around 1 hour to eat food …but he used to eat happily …

Now he is around 3 years old...Since 2-3 months back he has started this habit of keeping food in his mouth … I sometimes have lost my patience and scolded and spanked him …and now I can sense that he does not like meal times ….past 1 week he has skipped dinner ..He says he does not want to eat ….so I just leave him …and not make a big fuss..With the hope that he will ask for dinner some day..

With regards to snacks …my child is unique in this aspect also...he does not like chips, biscuits , cookies, cakes , even ice-cream is also a big no no …he does not like them ..He is a big picky eater I know..

I only want him to eat happily …and just overcome his bad habit of keeping food in his mouth …any tips and techniques would be great ….

Thanks again…

tikka · Jun 28, 2010

Coolcat, there is occupational therapy for children in India. Do let me know the city you are in. If you are in Chennai there is V-Excel in Adyar, Spastn in Taramani, Vidya Sagar in Kotturpuam and other places that give OT and Physical therapy for children.
A lot of children have textural preferences. My son skipped the stage 2 foods completely and went on to table food straight. he still wont eat certain foods that is not uniform in texture, but will eat every adult food as long as he is feeding himself. Like you here, I/DH need to sit next to him and remind him to thoroughly chew food before he swallows or he gags. If he chews well and swallows, we do praise him a lot.
Our paed says for some children the gag reflex stays through the early childhood and starts waning only around age 6. "oosi thondai" is what it is conventionally known as. I know I had it and I used to be the kid that you say your son is.
It does require a lot of patience and some training for your child to be eating normally. If he is a little lower on the charts make your food calorie dense and make the meals small and more frequent. DS was around 13 kg when he was 3 years old and used to eat three small meals plus three snacks, aiming for around 1000 to 1200 cal a day. We added a lot of peanut butter, cheese, nuts into his diet and that seem to have paid off a little.
Dont let his weight bother you. As long as you dont make food an issue - as in something he can use to get your attention - and he is healthy and not falling ill often, it is ok if he does not eat like a typical 3 year old. He will catch up quickly once his gag reflex becomes normal. HTH.

coolcat · Jun 28, 2010

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I am in Pune ..so if you know any occupational therapy for kids in Pune ..it will be a great help ….

I am trying my level best …first thing that I have to learn is that I should not make food an issue ..if he does not feed then I should take it easy ….and leave him ….

Second if he gags and vomits , then also be patient ….this is the most difficult part for me …as it take 1- 1.5 hours to feed him a meal ..then if he vomits then ……what to say ….

Just wishing he improves and my life becomes a little easy ..