I have a 17-month-old at our daycare. He doesn't chew off food or even chew food. His food is cut up into small pieces and he just swallows that way. How can we help him learn to chew his food and chew off (like biting sandwich or cracker). His parent is not very concerned, but we are. We just want to help him as we are concerned of him choking since he doesn't chew up his food. We feel he should be biting off pieces by this age. Please help us!
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2Hello Stacey, and welcome. You can read these related questions for some ideas * How do I teach my toddler to chew his food? * How to get a toddler to start chewing and eating solids? * Toddler won't swallow or spit out food sometimes -- however, without taking him to a pediatrician or occupational therapist (which the parent must do), you can't easily determine whether there is an underlying physical or developmental obstacle.– AcireFeb 16, 2016 at 17:26
1 Answer
I am also a daycare provider and had a similar issue. An 18 month old child who shoves her mouth full, chews a bit, shoves more in, then uses milk/water to swallow it down. Here is what I learned...it's normal.
LOL Honestly. I found out that until 2 years of age children have different oral sensitivities to food. Eventually they grow out of it. So now I just make sure she doesn't choke and don't stress about it. It's hard to watch sometimes because as adults we can't get why they're doing it, but they're new little people and they're just exploring limits.
Small Tip: It helped to get her to use a spoon. Slowed her down at least so she couldn't just shovel it in endlessly.
I hope this helps a bit :)