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mushpea
24-07-2012, 11:16 AM
what age would you expect a child to be able to eat with their mouth closed and at what age would you think they could do this without constantly being reminded

AliceK
24-07-2012, 12:42 PM
Just thinking about my own and mindees and I only have 1 that eats with their mouth open, she is 3 but I have younger children aged 2 that manage it ok. Most of my children eat quite nicely apart from 1.

xxx

The Juggler
24-07-2012, 01:07 PM
I'd say 3 ish before they can manage and remember properly. My two are the worst at this despite being reminded from age 2 - they are now 10 and 12 :eek::panic:

Stapleton83
24-07-2012, 01:29 PM
I would say 2 ish depends on the stage of the individual but that said I have one mindee whose table manners are dire! :(

Bridey
24-07-2012, 01:33 PM
To remember without being reminded isn't going to happen if its how they eat at every other time ie - home & school. I had a child here for 7 years from 6 to 13 years old and he finally cracked it 3 months ago!! :rolleyes:

mushpea
24-07-2012, 01:55 PM
she is four and the noises that go with her eating are diabolical,, I cant eat with her anymore as it makes me gag,, she snorts and champs and chomps and slurps and gulps it is horrible. everday I tell her to eat with her mouth closed and have to continuosly remind her yet up till this week she was her everyday so you would think she should have learnt by now

AliceK
24-07-2012, 02:06 PM
she is four and the noises that go with her eating are diabolical,, I cant eat with her anymore as it makes me gag,, she snorts and champs and chomps and slurps and gulps it is horrible. everday I tell her to eat with her mouth closed and have to continuosly remind her yet up till this week she was her everyday so you would think she should have learnt by now

I have 1 like that. My DS refuses to sit by her at tea time. I'm surprised she doesn't choke some days the amount she shoves in :panic:

xxx

hectors house
24-07-2012, 03:24 PM
I had child who ate like this turned out he had huge tonsils and suffered from sleep apnea because of them. He also was a very slow nosy eater, as he breathed through his mouth rather than his nose, so was prone to choking.

mushpea
24-07-2012, 04:22 PM
shes definatly not a slow eater and can breath through her nose and always seems to do so when its full of snot so you can hear that bubbling away too :eek:
her mums just txt that shes been sick this afternoon so wont be having her the rest of the week , phew quite lunchtimes again lol

Bridey
24-07-2012, 06:04 PM
My teenage son and I no longer eat with the mindees as we both have a huge phobia about noisy eating :blush:

And I always have to have some music on! :laughing:

mushpea
24-07-2012, 07:23 PM
My teenage son and I no longer eat with the mindees as we both have a huge phobia about noisy eating :blush:

And I always have to have some music on! :laughing:
oh oh I did this today,,put the radio on, it helped but I could still here the noise above the radio

smurfette
24-07-2012, 07:32 PM
Bleugh!!!! Enjoy the peace!

kel1983
24-07-2012, 08:41 PM
we have one that has to use both hands to push food into his mouth. Its discusting to watch. I make his sit on one hand and tell him to use his fingers nicely. It workss for about a minute then he goes bck to the way he started. He is also too busy watching what everyone else is doing he never looks at his plate. Just sticks his hand out and feels around till he picks up food. Im pretty sure he has mastered this at home eating in front of the tv

Pipsqueak
24-07-2012, 09:00 PM
ALL of my mindees and own kids know to eat with mouths closed.... and one of my 'newer' mindees age 6 is horrendous... ALL the kids tell her to shut her mouth when eating, with one commenting that '... eats like a cow'...:rolleyes:

the noises this child makes is gross and turns my stomch, the lsmacking, chomping noises, food dribbling out her mouth... euwwwwww

mummyof3
24-07-2012, 09:30 PM
Mindee age 3.5 will talk with his mouth stuffed with food spitting it all over the place, he will slop it around in his mouth and make the most awful noise then in the middle of eating he will do the biggest burp I have ever heard a small child do and then spend the next few minutes laughing and asking everyone if they heard him burp :rolleyes:

He isn't used to eating at a table they usually hand him a mcdonalds whilst he is strapped into his car seat on the way home from my house :eek:

littlecheeks
25-07-2012, 03:59 PM
she is four and the noises that go with her eating are diabolical,, I cant eat with her anymore as it makes me gag,, she snorts and champs and chomps and slurps and gulps it is horrible. everday I tell her to eat with her mouth closed and have to continuosly remind her yet up till this week she was her everyday so you would think she should have learnt by now

i bet lunch time is fun for her if you keep going on. sorry if i sound harsh but reading things like this really do get my back up! 'I cant eat with her anymore as it makes me gag'
shes a child for gods sake, so what. theres alot worse she could be doing. i think gently reminders are fine or maybe do it in a positive way i.e rewards etc
but i really do think you should chill about it, you come across as shes some dirty animal.

littlecheeks
25-07-2012, 04:00 PM
ALL of my mindees and own kids know to eat with mouths closed.... and one of my 'newer' mindees age 6 is horrendous... ALL the kids tell her to shut her mouth when eating, with one commenting that '... eats like a cow'...:rolleyes:

the noises this child makes is gross and turns my stomch, the lsmacking, chomping noises, food dribbling out her mouth... euwwwwww

i wouldnt allow my mindees to go on at another mindee like that or make rude cow comments.

BlondeMoment
25-07-2012, 07:53 PM
I know a 30 year old who still does it! Drives me insane! LOL!
I'd say 3 or 4 really.

Pipsqueak
25-07-2012, 09:09 PM
i wouldnt allow my mindees to go on at another mindee like that or make rude cow comments.




they don't 'go on at her' they ask her politely to shut her mouth whilst eating which they - like an adult - are perfectly entitled to do.
Nor would I allow them to 'go on at anyone'

none of the children are that rude to make the comment directly to the mindee and it was said to me in confidence

perhaps I should have made myself plainer

Tealady
25-07-2012, 10:46 PM
I also find some children eat with their moth shut naturally from a babes but others need to be taught. My 6 year old DD struggles, it's almost as if she finds it physically impossible to eat with her mouth shut. I just hope the reminders and watching everybody else eat nicely rubs off soon.

mushpea
26-07-2012, 07:52 AM
i bet lunch time is fun for her if you keep going on. sorry if i sound harsh but reading things like this really do get my back up! 'I cant eat with her anymore as it makes me gag'
shes a child for gods sake, so what. theres alot worse she could be doing. i think gently reminders are fine or maybe do it in a positive way i.e rewards etc
but i really do think you should chill about it, you come across as shes some dirty animal ::.:laughing:

I dont 'keep going on' she has 2 or 3 gentle reminders through the meal, I dont comment about the noise she makes as shes the sort of child that if you say dont do somthing she would delibratly do it even more just to annoy you, I will not eat with her as it makes me feel ill, I have rights too, she goes home at 1pm so I eat once she has left. I am not stressed about it just wonded what sort of age people expected children to eat with manners, as for your last sentance that just made me laugh, goodnes knows where that came from

JoRoger
26-07-2012, 04:01 PM
When my old mindee first arrived he constantly ate with his mouth open, which was awful. I soon got fed up of asking him to eat with his mouth closed, and instead made a signal with my hand and mouth - I just said his name, put my lips out like a duck then put my finger over my top lip and my thumb over my bottom lip, this reminded him to close his mouth in a visual way, rather than me go on like a stuck record, and he give up listening.

Simple but effective - I also use with with my DS and even the husband if he's being a bit noisy!

A lot of the time with any repeated requests they condition themselves to hearing it and don't respond, so I try to use visuals as much as possible, as much for my sanity than anything else!

SYLVIA
26-07-2012, 09:05 PM
It does sound a bit harsh to say you cant eat with LO anymore but I have one here who has the worst table manners I have seen in 15 years and 36 children. I cant eat with this LO and the look on the faces of the others says it all. They haven't said anything to me but I know they have mentioned it to their parents. I try reminders but it doesn't help. I'm hoping the parents opt for pack lunch and not school dinners in september!

chonna
27-07-2012, 06:51 AM
So that the experience is as pleasant and inoffensive as possible requires developing acceptable techniques of eating. Believe it or not, table manners are taught as soon as your child understands what you're saying.