ok, my ds has been on fingerfoods now for about 3 months or so. The problem is, I have to cut everything up to very small pieces because if I don't, he will shove the whole thing in his mouth and swallow it without chewing it.. he has choked soo many times i have lost count (and I mean full on choking not just gagging). How can I teach him to chew. meal times are becomming stressful for me because I am constantly worried that he is going to choke and wondering if it will be the time when he won't be able to dislodge it and choke to death.!
What can I do? I give him toast and sandwiches but I hold onto them so he can bite bits off, its all good he can chew those bits, until I give it to him to hold and then he just puts it all in his mouth and tries to swallow it!
I give him teething rusks, he has those and chews them and sucks them, but when he gets a big chunk off, he won't chew it or spit it out, he just tries to swallow it and then chokes on it. I give him a biscuit, but i have to hold it, cause he will swallow any chunks without chewing.
I want food to be a fun experience for my ds not a time when mummy is constantly shoving her fingers in his mouth to get the piece of food out iykwim?
am I just being too paranoid? should i just let him hold onto these "big pieces" of food and feed him self to work it out, or should i just keep cutting everything up into small pieces?
i'm sorry for rambling on, but my boy is very independent and i'm sure he is sick of me constantly hovering over him when he is eating. I want it to be enjoyable for both of us. and I want to stop being so paranoid about EVERYTHING!
Sirenz, sorry this is not advice but my DD does the same thing. I really love the idea of finger foods, but she seems to have big chunks in her mouth which sometimes stay there for a long time afterwards (i was shocked to find them while i was playing with her, she could have choked cos i didnt even know they were still there in the roof of her mouth, big chunks) She was storing them like a little chipmunk!
I was scared by that experience which has happened twice. I dont know if it is something that they will figure out on their own?
I don't know what you can do. I know that if I don't cut things up for Oskar he still quite often just shoves the whole lot into his mouth... so if I cut a sandwhich into 4 squares he will shove almost a whole square in if I don't watch and tell him to take bites or hold it for him. With bread though it does tend to stick to the roof of his mouth and he's only just started to let me help him get that out. I think it may be something which just takes time for them to learn. In the meantime just keep cutting it up, a lot less stressful
What happens with big bits of squashy things (like banana or avocado)? At least they are harder to choke on...
Or things that really need to be chewed (like asparagus stalks or broccoli trees)?
With my DS, who is nearly 8 months, we make chewing faces and he imitates us. We share his food - so hopefully he gets the idea. We haven't tried giving him harder stuff yet though.
yes we share his food too and with banana, I was letting him bite some off my banana the other day and he got a big chunk off and choked on it cause he just tried to swallow it straightaway. He loves brocoli but i only give it to him extremely well cooked and small "trees".
we too make the chewing faces and he does imitate us, but he seems to forget about it soon enough.
he will be 11 months old in 2 days, maybe i'm just being impatient.
Are you sure you haven't got my grandson. He did the same for awhile until he got the idea. We used to sit with him and eat and chew, he got the idea eventually. It made meals a pain having to make sure everything was bite size but they get there and then he went the other way and took small bites of his sandwiches!!!
how do i teach him to chew?
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