Have you ever found yourself wondering, “How to make toddler chew food?” Feeding kids can be quite challenging. First, you have to convince them to open their mouths for the spoon, then ensure that the food doesn’t get immediately spat out. But the real struggle lies in getting toddlers to chew their food instead of simply swallowing it. It’s no easy task for parents, as they watch anxiously to ensure proper chewing and avoid any potential choking hazards. It’s a hurdle that many parents can relate to!
Encouraging toddlers to chew their food instead of swallowing it can be a daunting task for parents. However, there are strategies to make this process smoother. Introduce a variety of textures gradually, be a positive role model by demonstrating proper chewing, promote self-feeding with bite-sized foods, and create an enjoyable mealtime environment. Additionally, offering chewy foods and practicing patience can go a long way. Remember, each child develops at their own pace, so be patient and seek professional guidance if needed. With persistence and a gentle approach, you can help your toddler embrace the art of chewing and develop healthy eating habits.
What is Chewing?
Mastication or chewing is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion, and it increases the surface area of foods to allow more efficient break down by digestive enzymes.
When can a baby chew food?
At approximately 5 months of age, babies begin using their fingers and teethers for oral exploration using a bite and release pattern. Babies start mouthing activities as early as 7 to 8 months when they are introduced to new foods and textures. They try to manipulate the food in their mouth to experience the taste and texture and that lays the foundation for chewing foods later. When babies’ diets change gradually from soft textures to lumpier ones, they start more tongue and cheek movement which helps develop their chewing action further.
As babies cross their first birthday, they develop better coordination for chewing foods properly. This coordination mainly involves the movement of food by the tongue – to the side for chewing, to the center and to the other side. This side to side movement is what mainly constitutes the action of chewing. At this stage their senses are developed enough to assess whether the food requires further chewing. If yes, they will be moved from side to side again and chewed; if the chewing is sufficient, the food is pushed back into the throat to be swallowed. This process is fine tuned by the age of 2 or 3, when the chewing pattern is smoother and faster.
My baby doesn’t have teeth!! Can she still chew?
We chew mostly with our molars and your baby will get his molars only around 10- 16 months, maybe a little earlier or later as well. However, babies do not wait until they get their molars to start chewing, which any breastfeeding mother will tell you! A baby’s gums are strong enough to mash food to a texture that is smooth enough for them to swallow. The first steps of chewing require only tongue, jaw and cheek movements. Teeth are used later for more complicated foods with fibers that must be broken up by the teeth.
How To Make Toddler Chew Food: 7 Simple Ways
1. Use Grabber Tools
Want to encourage your toddler to chew? Try using grabber toys! These specially designed toys increase sensory and tactile stimulation, introducing your little one to chewing movements. Plus, they help toddlers handle lumpier foods. So, grab some grabber toys and make mealtime a fun and interactive experience for your child.
2. Start with Soft Finger Foods
When introducing finger foods to your baby, opt for softer options that melt in saliva. By biting into these foods, they learn to chew and swallow more easily, building their confidence with different textures.
Soft finger foods empower babies to take control of their feeding. Connecting biting, softening, and swallowing boosts their self-feeding abilities, making them more adventurous eaters. Embrace this phase as your toddler masters chewing.
3. Use a Fruit Feeder
To encourage your toddler to chew on fruits, a Fruit Feeder can be a helpful tool. These mesh feeders are designed specifically for holding fruits and vegetables. The mesh bag allows your baby to explore the texture and taste of the food while minimizing the risk of choking. It provides a safe way for them to experience the sensation of biting and chewing without any fear. With a Fruit Feeder, you can introduce a variety of fruits and vegetables to your baby, promoting their chewing skills and expanding their palate.
4. Encourage Self Feeding
Sometimes it works better to just hand your baby a spoon and let him try to feed himself. He might only got a couple of bites into his mouth, but he will be more likely to hold it in, chew and swallow it.
5. Feed when Hungry
A baby who’s really, truly hungry will be much more motivated to try something new! If you want him to try a banana but offer it after his yogurt, he’s more likely to play with it than attempt to chew and eat. While you’re prepping breakfast, sit him in his high chair and give him a few bites of the banana to look at/play with/attempt to eat while you chop up the rest of the banana to go in his breakfast.
6. Choose the Right Foods
Safety is your highest priority when choosing foods for your child. Avoid firm foods that are the size of your child’s airway until she is at least 3 years old. This includes nuts, popcorn, whole grapes and any meat that is not cut up finely.
7. Stay calm
As Moms ourselves, we know that “how to make toddler chew food” is easier said than done! It can be frustrating and nerve-wracking when your child’s total food intake at a meal is about three bites! But if you are anxious at mealtimes, he absolutely will pick up on that and I can tell you from experience that it will not help the situation. Keep working with him and he will have a healthy interest in his food.
Chewing may seem like the most natural thing to us, but it takes babies a little bit of practice to get in the groove of things. With these tips and lots of patience, you can be sure that he’ll soon pick up on this new skill and before you know it, he’ll be chewing away happily!
My son is 2.6 years old. He only eats blended food which i have to feed him on my own. If i wait for him to eat on his own he’ll stay hungry for the whole day, as i have tried this method after consulting a doctor. So i dropped this method. He don’t even want to hold or look at the food the food like carrots, cucumber sticks, even if he does he’ll throw it right away and start cleaning his hands. I again consulted another doctor she said start with one thing introduce texture first then self eating. That went in pain as well as he dont want to open his mouth and if somehow manage to put solid into his mouth he spills out and gags. He speaks only about 8-10 single words and gibberish most of the time.
Hi Neha,
Your toddler needs more practice. Please give lots of finger foods. Allow him to explore foods. Initially he would only play and mess with it, but gradually he would cope up. No worries.
Hello. My son is 18 months old and he doesn’t know how to chew food or bite. He refuses to hold anything in his hands and will only eat puréed food. Every time I make his purée a little chunkier he ends up vomiting everything.
Hi,
He needs practice. Please give lots of finger foods, let the baby play or mess with it. Slowly he would cope up no worries.
My son is 4 n half year old.He chew very slowely and collect his food in right side of mouth.He does not know how to chew from left side and he doesnt know how to take food from right side to left side.he also strugling in gargle or transfering water from right side to left side in mouth…in some world he has stutter Speech(totala).he cant speak worlds starting from”S”..if he says Speech we hear it like Peech.He takes very long time to eat.please guide me what to do?is there any exercise orany technique???
Hi Jyotiben,
Please try giving practice, you can guide him on how it should be done. Encouraging is most important. If he finds it difficult, please have a word with your pediatrician.
Hello doctor. My son is 1.2 years old. He doesn’t eat anything. He only wanna drink milk. Whenever i feed him anything he spits them out. He sometimes eat blended food with zero chunks at all. He can go for 4 hours without eating anything and at the end throws tantrums for milk he doesn’t open his mouth. Chewing is something really out of the question here.
Giving lot of milk can also affect appetite Kalsoom.Try giving lots of finger foods, that can help to practice chewing, create interest on foods and also help in increasing the feeding ability.
Hi Akz, my child was same but I’ve tried giving her warburton bread with some spread cheese on it, cut out the crust and cut the slice of bread into little squares, it worked! She now has a slice of bread with different stuff on it in the morning or cereal etc.
Hey Hanna,
We are glad to know that your child has started chewing and accepting the food easily 🙂
My child is 4 year old and doesn’t chew food yet. She gulps down semi solid food only. What can I do to encourage her to chew?
Hi,
The above article has effective tips. Try following it for better results.You can also make it as a game “munch munch, munch like maama “(and show munching) and ask her to repeat, let her enjoy munching food with maama, step by step she will improve.
Hi .. my child is 1.4 years old and has about 14-16 teeth already.. but she doesn’t chew her food .. swallows straight away .. crispy stuff like papads and murukku she eats nicely .. chews and swallows .. even nuts she does too .. it’s only her rice .. she doesn’t like soft food .. so dosa idli etc are rejected straight away .. am still doing kanji for breakfast .. although I d love for her to try adult breakfast .. fruits have to be purées coz she doesn’t like eating them as pieces .. so essentially although not a paste her food has to be blended to a coarse samba rava texture with ample water to make it porridgey..
Please guide me as to how I can help change this
Thanks in advance
Hi,
Self feeding is necessary for creating interest on foods and also would help in increasing the feeding ability. Start giving lots of finger foods. And also gradually change the texture from puree to mashed and then to small pieces. Self feeding will definitely make your baby to enjoy the tiny fruit pieces dear,
my child is 3 years old..she doesnt chew food at all and am even afraid of giving her semi solid food that she will choke what can i do
Hi,
She needs practice. Please give her lots of finger foods. Start with very small pieces. She would be coping up. Please don’t worry.
Hello Doctor,my son is 3.5 yrs ,he’s still unable to chew and bite food..I am giving him blended food…Please advise
Hi Pavithra,
Please avoid giving blended food, gradually change the consistency. Try making him watch other children munch food. You can also make it as a game “munch munch, munch like mama “(and show munching) and ask him to repeat, let him enjoy munching food with mama, step by step he will improve. But never try to force him munch, as that might end up as aversion on foods.
Hello doctor my baby is 20 month he only swallow the food I have to make it very soft blend it how the get him chew
Hi,
He needs to start practicing chewing now. Give lots of finger foods dear ( with supervision) You can show munching gestures. Baby can learn from maama 🙂 Please don’t blend foods for him. Gradually increase the consistency. He would be okay when his feeding abilities develop. So no worries please.
My four years child does non bit ,chew or grind food but only knows to swallow and he only accept to eat soft foods ,but at times he grinds his teeth without food and he is breaking his teeth due to the impact.He don’t even know how to eat on his own he don’t know how to take food to his mouth and saliver comes out of his mouth continuously and does not stop. Please help what can be the problem, how can he be assisted .
Hi Victor,
Learning to control the tongue is a skill that has to be practiced. Having said that, some kids just have issues with the texture of the food. For them, introducing a new food can take many, many tries before they eventually come around. Some kids take to new foods after a couple of tries, but with kids like my son it’s more like 25 or 30 before he will reliably eat more than a bite!
1. Keep offering the food you are attempting to get him to eat. He doesn’t HAVE to eat it, but he should be exposed to it. He may pick it up and play with it and feel it. That’s ok. He’s getting used to it–it’s a process.
2. Offer soft foods cut up in small pieces. He might be more inclined to actually put a soft bite of banana in his mouth than a crunchy cracker. Bananas, cooked peas and carrots, avocado, plain cooked macaroni, etc. And cut them smaller than you think necessary.
3. Sometimes it helped to give a spoon and let him try to feed himself. He might have only gotten a couple of bites into his mouth, but he will more likely to keep it in his mouth, chew, and swallow it.
4. Offer the new food first when he’s really, truly hungry. If you want him to try a banana but you offer it after his yogurt or whatever, he won’t be hungry and will have little motivation to try something new. Maybe while you’re prepping breakfast, sit him in his high chair and give him a few bites of the banana to look at/play with/attempt to eat while you chop up the rest of the banana to go in his breakfast.
5. Remain calm. If you are anxious at mealtimes, he absolutely will pick up on that. I can tell you from experience that it will not help the situation.
how is your kid now? how he started chewing. my kid also 4 year and same as your situation. even after keeping 8-9 hours hungry hr is not opening mouth for eating solid food..only he swallows semi solids. pls help with your experience.
Yes, He chews well. Try all the tips given, you can definitely see a change 🙂
Hello dr, my baby pockets food. He takes food in his mouth chews it but does not swallow. Few foods like rice he is able to swallow but most of them he keeps in mouth. How can I help him?
Hi Shweta,
This happens because your child doesn’t know how to swallow. While eating teach him to gulp down the food that he takes. Try giving him spoon so that he learns how to swallow the food or try giving finger foods to your lo. But keep a keen eye on him while making him eat finger food.
Cheers,
Hema
what are the finger foods you suggested in one of the replies?
There are many finger foods that you cam try for your little one.
Some of them are Fruit and Vegetable Finger Foods. In the below given link you will see various finger food recipes.
Link – https://goo.gl/kdF3BE
Cheers,
Hema
hello doctor,
my child is 2.4 years, he still struggles to chew food properly. i gave him mashed food till the age of 1.5 years. During that time he used to just gulp, n vomit at the end because of the gag reflex. then he started to store food in the bottom of the tongue for ages. that was when i stopped blending his food when i realised that he isn’t learning how to eat properly.
its been 8 months since i chucked the blender and now I give him normal chapati, daal rice. but he is just not showing any improvement. i starve him sometimes so that out of desperation he would eat properly, but he wont. he stores food underneath the tongue, as it becomes soggy he would try to gulp it in one go. he is not able to differentiate between big or small bites, thats why he often gags. Feeding time has become stressful for both of us. can you please guide if occupational therapy would help in such cases. he is absolutely active normal kid who is just not ready to understand this basic process of chewing. He eats biscuits, finger foods, fruits but would only use his front teeth, not the molars properly. His teeth alignment, tongue all looks perfect. Please guide me doctor.
Hi Dipali,
Some babies and toddlers just have issues with the texture of the food. Do not loose your patience and teach him verbally when you are eating make him eat by teaching him proper way of eating. You can show him some informative videos on the same to get the idea of the swallowing to be accepted by him. Bribe him by saying that you will feed him foods that he likes if he eats properly.
Hello doctor my son is 3.5 years old. He does not bite or chew his food. He eats only the food which is easy to swallow and he does not communicate properly In words. Please suggest me how to deal with this.
Hi Sravani,
Each and every child is different. Let them be comfortable and in their pace to speak to you properly. Do not forfeit your effort. You continue to speak to them normally correct them when it is neccessary.
As for not properly chewing, Learning to control the tongue is a skill that has to be practiced. Having said that, some kids just have issues with the texture of the food. For them, introducing a new food can take many, many tries before they eventually come around. Some kids take to new foods after a couple of tries, but with kids like my son it’s more like 25 or 30 before he will reliably eat more than a bite!
1. Keep offering the food you are attempting to get him to eat. He doesn’t HAVE to eat it, but he should be exposed to it. He may pick it up and play with it and feel it. That’s ok. He’s getting used to it–it’s a process.
2. Offer soft foods cut up in small pieces. He might be more inclined to actually put a soft bite of banana in his mouth than a crunchy cracker. Bananas, cooked peas and carrots, avocado, plain cooked macaroni, etc. And cut them smaller than you think necessary.
3. Sometimes it helped to give a spoon and let him try to feed himself. He might have only gotten a couple of bites into his mouth, but he will more likely to keep it in his mouth, chew, and swallow it.
4. Offer the new food first when he’s really, truly hungry. If you want him to try a banana but you offer it after his yogurt or whatever, he won’t be hungry and will have little motivation to try something new.
5. Remain calm. this is extremely hard because it can be frustrating and nerve-wracking when your child eats a diet of about three bites! But if you are anxious at mealtimes, he absolutely will pick up on that.
hi. my son is 22 months old. he just don’t want to chew. I give him pasta, daal rice he just swallow all that without gagging. he eats almost everything but just swallows. how to make him chew please help. I am really worried.
Dear, babies are often reluctant to chew as it requires effort. However we have to pick ideas from the article, also offer food and give them time to chew. We can practice eating nicely infront of them to help them understand. Eventually the baby will learn to chew.
I would get an evaluation from a feeding therapist. My grandson is 17 months and does not chew.
He has Russell Silver Syndrome and the musccles are not coordinated. He will swallow whole and choke.
My baby 2years 4 months now he doesn’t chew and he swallow food with drinking water,at least once a week he vomit all he eaten.we offered him many kind of food ,how can I teach him to chew .and eat without drinking water please help
Dear it is a practice that we need to inculcate in children. Often kids are reluctant to start chewing on their own, however if you allow him to eat on his own and follow the tips in the post, he will eventually start chewing.
My 23 month old boy doesn’t chew food as soon as food is in his mouth he pushes back to the throat and swallows, sometimes he gags and I end up giving him puree … I’ve tried giving him biscuits he feeds himself without gagging. Should I stop spoon feeding him and let him feed himself?
This sure can sometimes make us feel troubled, however as shared in this article, we have to keep a lot of patience with them, ensure we are following the right tricks and not give up easily. Patience and persistence win when training kids to chew food or any other new trait.
Hello doctor my son 3yr and 2months old he does not chew the food and only swallows it . He does not even try to keep the food in his mouth and does not try to chew and gags while swallowing. Is it a big concern and any therapy need to be given. Please advice
This sure can sometimes make us feel troubled, however as shared in this article, we have to keep a lot of patience with them, ensure we are following the right tricks and not give up easily. Patience and persistence win when training kids to chew food or any other new trait. As he is already 3, you can even meet doctor once if worried.
Hi I see ur post is of 2017 now it’s 2019 can u plz advise if the problem is solved? If yes plz suggest how u did.
Hi..
My son is 2yrs 8 months and doesn’t chew at all, only swallow food and vomit if solid food is offered. He doesn’t store food in mouth. We continuously encourage him to chew but he has no interest in eating(not even in chocolates, cake, chips etc).
Please help me to know if this is just a phase or any therapy is required
Chewing is a tiring job for toddlers and they take rather long to do it. Hope your little one is now learning the tricks well.
Hi..
My son is 2yrs 8 months and doesn’t chew at all, only shallows food and vomit if solid food is offered. He doesn’t store food in mouth. We continuously encourage him to chew but he has no interest in eating.
Please help me to know if this is just a phase or any therapy is required
No dear, in most kids it is a matter of convenience that they avoid chewing, no therapy is required. Just keep encouraging the baby to chew. Also, avoid purees and mashed forms of food, give finger foods, roti and dismiss from the pace, so that your baby tries to eat himself and may also learn to chew. It is just a phase.
I would get an evaluation from a feeding therapist. My grandson is 17 months and does not chew.
He has Russell Silver Syndrome and the musccles are not coordinated. He will swallow whole and choke.
My son 3 years 6 months he is not chews the food what can I do help me he is food in mouth 30 mints he is no chews
Dear, it is a habit that you need to gradually help him learn so that he eats well.
Hello doctor my little princess is 13 month now but she don’t want to eat by herself even I tried many finger food she feed us. She don’t want to chewing too.I m worried pls give some tips thank you very much