How to teach a child to chew?
Over Thanksgiving, our 9-month-old almost choked on a piece of his teething biscuit that broke off - he tried to swallow it without chewing. Needless to say, we have not given him anything like that since....
However, we realized how important it is that he learn to CHEW. Any suggestions for helping with this? I read a few blogs/articles online saying that you can't really teach a child to chew, that they figure it out themselves... But then I read another article about a 3-year-old who still hasn't learned to chew. I also read that if you miss a certain window of time, it is more difficult for them to learn to chew.
What can we do to help the process along more quickly? Or is really just giving him more time... And continuing to puree his foods until then? We have tried slowly increasing the consistency of his food, and we are making some progress that way.
5 Answers
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Cheerios. They're small and quick to soften in the mouth, so not a big choking hazard.
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Have you tried giving small chunks of banana or avocado or soft pear? Cooked sweet potato has also a great consistency. These foods lend themselves to gumming or chewing quite well. I don't exactly know how ours learned to chew, but she does it now.
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Poor kid! I wonder if you might also try giving him something to chew on that's not food - like a teething toy - that you model (dramatic :) gnawing on and then give it to him to try. Our 10-month-old loves imitating us, especially if it involves a back and forth, tug-of-war + hand-off of a toy that we seem to be playing with.
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Have you seen these mesh feeder things that look like big pacifiers? Nuby and Munchkin each make one. They open up and you put the food into the mesh basket. Then, the baby can bite or suck on the mesh part and the food comes through the holes. They work really well for giving the baby an ice cube during teething too.
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I seriously think that every. single. parent. should take an infant cpr and first aid class. My first choked on absolutely everything - the doctor said she had an overactive gag reflex. We had to call 911 when she choked on milk. Seriously? Yes, milk. There was nothing small enough that she wouldn't choke. So, first things first, learn the heimlich. Next, don't worry about teaching your child to chew. It's something they learn on their own.
My 2nd and 3rd? They could both eat a banana in 2 bites without problem. Craziness. It depends on the child. Cut things up, be there when you baby/child is eating, and know what to do if they choke.
We have been mashing up these foods. He seems to do fine if we mash well and liquify.... If they're too thick, he chokes on them too. But just in the last day or so, he seems to be making more chewing motions, so perhaps the problem will take care of itself?
- Evelyn, Dec 4, 2009