My son don't want to chew his food

Generally, children who are active consider eating time as wasted time as they could be doing other activities while eating. This is what makes them gulp food quickly as their mind is telling them that eating is a waste of time. They are not matured enough to understand the energy for their other activities come from their eating.

Please explain in words the following steps:

1) Eating food is required to generate energy to play and engage in other activities

2) Chewing the food while eating is essential for the food we eat to convert quickly into energy

If possible, use some pictures that describe the above. Please let the child know that if they chew their food properly and eat they could play more and engage in other activities for a longer duration. That will work as incentive for them to chew their food.

This is my practical suggestion. I am not a physicians if mothers are still concerned, they should consult a pediatrician. If we look up in google, there are umpteen number of chewing and eating disorders listed and whether they do it because of the disorder or not can be determined only by pediatrician.

Viswa

 

replying for a post after a long long time in IL

my son is 19 months now, he got his teeth only when he is 14 months now he got only 7 teeth in the front, till 14 months i use to give him mashed food but after that i started to give few foods like babana biscuits to chew now he started learning it slowly, can see lot of moms with the same problem but dont worry they start learning slowly keep trying to teach them..............

 

Hi Aishu..
Welcome back to IL...
Thats lovely idea please share about your DS

 

thanks for your warm welcome
My son is 18 months old, just giving me some time to sit in the system so i started to come back to IL, i am alone so its really tough to manage everything here, but i like this phase in my life very much...........

 

Hi aishu..
Wow great to know that you are managing all alone...

 

Hi Ladies,
Lot of posts to catch up!!!
I still have the chewing problem with my son. He can eat biscuits/sweets/chocolate/lollypop/noodles etc etc..
When it comes to rice/chapati/other items, he feels uneasy..

Am really worried when he can eat on his own by chewing.. I keep on teaching how he has to chew & eat..

 

Dear Anitha...
Relax and when he eats chapathi to encourage him make chewing actions in fun and attract his attention so that he feels chewing is fun he may not take your notice first few times but keep up one day he will respond to your actions....

 

Vjbunny,
Sure, trying my best.

 

Hi
here s a good companion 4 your DD.my son is 19 months old. im facing the same problem he is under weight and i always feel sad when i see children of his age looking so bubbly. last time my pead gave a syrup PRACTIN it is not a permanent solution yet relieves us . it works for some days when i give him once whenever the situation is too bad i.e when he is very fussy i will use it.now i feel better than previous

You can consult your pead on this syrup. all the best

 

Ajuma,

I can't really tell you how much excited to see your post. Just got someone who could actually understand the anxiety am going thru. i could never till date post my kid's eating problems thinking that no one could actually understand.

My daughter is 3.5 yrs now still does not chew. More to that, she doesnt like to eat ANYTHING since her birth.
i use to breast feed her till 5 months, from then my problems started. never used to drink milk too.. never asked for food till now.. can go on without food for whole day.. i used to force feed her (2-3 times a day).

her food till 3 yrs was mashed rice, dal, milk, suji upma, mashed idli with sambar.. that's it (no choclates, biscuits,fruits or juices) .. that too force feeding for hours & hours..

she got her first teeth at 14 months, then till 2 yrs she had just front teeth..so i used to mash the above things & feed her. she got her side teeth by 3 yrs. then she started to have egg (made to tiny pieces & fed with hand), chicken. still rice had to be mashed & fed for hours. she never wants to eat on her own. even if i feed her she keeps food in mouth for AGES and finally gulps. she dont chew at all.. every time i try other foods (she tries to gulp & vomits as she dont chew). this is a real stress for me & my husband since 3 yrs. we stopped going anywhere, stopped attending functions. our whole focus & task for the day is feeding her for hours & hours at each feeding session.

am worried as she dont get proper nutrition as no fruits, veggies, etc. I had to leave my job to take care of her feeding. Otherwise, she is such a cute, hyperactive, inteligent girl that i need not worry anything else about her. she had been going to play-school when she was 2 yrs, but due to her poor eating habits, she fell sick & i couldn't leave her without eating anymore. i quit my job & since a year i've been working on her eating habits.

but still... the same long hours of feeding till today with a slight
(10%) improvement in the menu items.. still no chewing

all this yr, i was eagerly waiting to get back to work if she improves on her eating. last year we moved to US & I am now sending her to Play-school (for 3 hrs) with the hope that she learns eating seeing other kids. but no use, her lunch box is back as is.. and as i can't leave her like that i start feeding when she's back. now if I ask her why she didn't even try.. she answers she wants me to feed her at home. In US, the teachers at school do not bother if they dont even eat at school.

she can speak everything, sings, she understands everything, she can even write her name at this age. but she doesnt want to eat her own, she doesn't want to chew.

In Short, the problem is - very very FUSSY EATING + CHEWING problem !!!!! Not sure how to overcome this biggest issue..