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View Full Version : Mindee holds the food in the mouth for hours



oana0504
31-03-2012, 02:28 PM
Hi there, everyone! I am wondering how to deal with a little mindee of almost two (next month), which is eating everything, not fussy at all, but he just puts the food in his cheeks and does not chew. I am feeding him, as if he'd do it by himself it will take ages. Even so, his feeding takes around one hour or more to finish his food. He just waits for it to melt. He only uses his tongue to move it into his mouth and he drinks tones of water to melt it or to push the food. I'm thinking at the other mindees as they also need my care and we loose pretious times, for waiting. He is very very thin and also seems to have difficulties when speaking. He's got just a few words and very nosy. His mum said that he had purees till very late, as he didn't like the chunks in his food. I am praizing him and give him rewards, but just doesn't work. Did anyone have such a problem to deal with?

little chickee
31-03-2012, 06:24 PM
As you say that he has only just recently progressed to solid food i would say that this is the cause of him holiding the food in his mouth.

He hasnt really learned to chew.
This is also affecting his speech as the muscles used to speak are strenghted by chewing!

Not entirely sure what i would do.
To start with i would stop feeding him myself - let him feed himself. Regardless of how long it takes or how messy its a skill he should be learning.
Maybe it might help.

For slow eaters i would usually say to set a time limit and when that time is up he should be taken down from the table. this can help kids to speed up a bit.

Have you tried softer foods that don't require so much chewing to get him started?

oana0504
31-03-2012, 07:13 PM
I've tried to give him softer foods. In the morning we've changed the rice crispies with porridge as we get late to school. I have no problem at all with living him eat by himself, but he is so so skinny...nappies size 4! like my baby at 8 months. I feel like I want to put him on his feet properly. He almost has no strength to cry.
When he's having softer foods he absorbs the juice, sauce or milk and still keeps the solid food in his cheeks. We've made one first step though...being small I've put him in the highchair, where he stays still as his mum said he runs around everywhere and she needs to chase him to feed him.

watgem
31-03-2012, 07:46 PM
Hi Oana I have the same with an 18 month old, no chewing of food whatsoever, it just stays in his mouth until its melted enough to swallow. mum says I'm only to give him biscuits for snack as he hasn't tried fruit yet. He has no speech whatsoever, only makes noises and constantly dribbles. Still drinks all drinks from a bottle, so I would be really interested in any advice you're given as they sound quite similarxxx

jumpinjen
31-03-2012, 08:28 PM
I would be suggesting to Mum that she speaks to her health visitor for advice and also possibly a referral to speech and language for support as it sounds like he has missed some developmental steps and needs to go back and work forwards again, like with chopped foods working towards bigger lumps for an example? Could you maybe split his meals up into smaller amounts and have him eat smaller amounts more often so it isn't such a chore for him to sit and eat? Could he have half his food of something he can eat (soft) and half something more challenging that he has to try and chew or bite? You can soften vegetable and salad sticks in the microwave in a little water in a dish then cool and give - liek finger foods to babies but it sounds like he needs these steps to me - you really should get some advice - ask mum to refer him to HV and ask if you can speak to HV to see what she says so you can help him - he may even need some high calorie drinks as an interim measure if he is underweight - Jen x

dette
31-03-2012, 09:33 PM
This sounds like my step son.Hes 7 now and still has trouble with oranges ,meat and potato skins.his speech is mumbled and often hard to understand as he barely moves his jaw to talk.the foods that disolve quickly ,like pasta and mash ,most steamed veg are kind of ok ,if you dont mind snails pace .i encourage him to mix his meat with his mash to moisten it which we are having some success with but as a LO he was a nightmare.Definitly sugest speech therapy.He may have a coordination problem that they can help him with.Better delt with sooner than later xx

oana0504
31-03-2012, 09:46 PM
Thank you everyone for answering! I will definitely speak with mum about speech therapy. And also I've tried small portions first and than gradually bigger ones. His sounds are nasal and you can't understand much thing of what he's saying. I can see that he's not using his tongue or jaws when speaking but only his air in the lungs and nose. I am very confident that he's on the good way because he is a very good child and does everything he's told to.:littleangel: