All parents strive to teach their baby various skills as early as possible. But neither their patience, nor pedagogical skills and perseverance can force children to perform certain actions. For example, they do not want to chew solid food. What to do in such a situation? How to teach him to chew and swallow?
Parents should make sure that the chewing skill of the child is formed at the right time and correctly. To do this, they should be aware of the possible reasons for the lack of ability to chew and the methods of formation of this reflex. The answer to the question of when and how to accustom a child to solid food can be found in the article.
The benefits of solid food
Pediatricians believe that the later a child begins to chew lumps, the more problems he may have.
Late transition to solid food threatens the following problems:
- Malocclusion.
- Disturbances in the digestive system.
- Violation of speech function, since the masticatory muscles, are also involved in the pronunciation of words.
- Psychological disorders. At 2 - 3 years, when the baby is already aware of his actions, he may even refuse to take solid (not frayed) food.
Age periods of chewing reflex formation
When to introduce solid foods to a child? You need to learn to chew the baby in stages, since a sharp transition from gruel-like food to hard and hard can cause a refusal to eat and stress.
Doctors believe that children older than 10 months should not choke while eating. If this happens, then this symptom signals to parents about health problems.
Conventionally, the stages of development of the reflex are divided into 3 categories:
- 6 months - 1 year - this is the ideal time to introduce complementary foods to the menu. You should start the process with very thin cereals and mashed potatoes. The kid during this period tries to taste the food, he performs various movements with his jaws and lips. From 8 months in the mashed potatoes you can leave small pieces of food, the size of which needs to be increased over time.
- 1 - 2 years - at this age, the child has an average of 8 teeth. His curiosity about solid foods should be encouraged in every way. Some parents continue to mashed, but excessive custody in this case only harms the baby, if you do not begin to introduce him to hard pieces, then in the future it will be very difficult.
- From 2 years old, the child should be able to chew solid food (vegetables, fresh fruits, meat) well. It is during this period that the bite begins to form and the masticatory muscles develop. The baby's body remembers how much saliva and gastric juice must be developed. If by this time the child has not learned to chew, you should visit a doctor.
Possible problems
How to teach a child to solid food, what problems can arise in the process of learning? A child who is used to eating only liquid food does not immediately perceive solid food. He begins to spit out food, turns away, is naughty. When you try to feed him food with a more solid consistency, the following problems arise:
- The child refuses food, he is too lazy to chew.
- Too sharp a transition can scare him; he won’t understand what to do with the pieces.
- During eating, the child chokes - it is simply unusual for him to swallow solid food, over time, he will learn to control the language. Parents should give new products after the main feeding, a well-fed child will not rush to satisfy hunger, but calmly try the new product, getting acquainted with the new taste and consistency.
- If you try to swallow, vomiting occurs. This is due to improper feeding techniques - a spoon is inserted too deep into the mouth. In addition, the volume of a baby spoon should not be more than 3 ml. If vomiting is very frequent, you should consult a neurologist.
- The child is afraid to chew and swallow. Any childhood fear has a reason. Probably he used to choke heavily or from this spoon gave a bitter medicine. You should contact a child psychologist and pediatrician. In addition, it is not necessary to give medicine from one and the same spoon and then feed it with food, children remember small things well, perhaps he refuses not to eat food, but to take food from this spoon.
To overcome the gag reflex, a certain massage should be done. Use a napkin that touches the tongue, and the child should try to push it out with the tongue. So he gets used to new sensations and will not feel the urge to vomit when feeding.
When does a child begin to eat solid foods and when is it worth starting to worry?
The chewing reflex forms from about 7 months when the teeth begin to erupt. It was at this time that the child makes the first attempts to bite everything and pulls surrounding objects into his mouth. This period of development of the baby is the time when the child is given solid food. That is, this is a signal to parents when they should begin to introduce solid lumps into the diet. It is best to start with liquid cereals and mashed potatoes.
- By the age of one year, the child is able to independently chew small pieces;
- At 2 years old, the child calmly chews and swallows any food.
If by the age of 2 years the baby has not formed a chewing reflex, you should consult a pediatrician.
Causes of the problem
How to teach a child to eat solid foods, what problems hinder this process? There are several reasons that prevent the improvement of the chewing reflex, most of them can be eliminated at home.
The main causes of difficulty in chewing:
- Impatient parents. Accustoming to solid food is a long process, some mothers and fathers get tired of having a baby, they give him food that he is used to, so as not to waste time.
- Fear of parents that the child may choke. Many mothers start to accustom adult food late, fearing that the child will choke. In the future, this will lead to even greater problems in the formation of this skill.
- A spoon inconvenient for the baby. It is best to buy a small children's spoon made of silicone with a bright pattern. It is very convenient, does not injure the enamel of the first teeth.
- Child hyperactivity - it is difficult for such children to concentrate on the process of chewing and swallowing. They begin to act up and demand food that is familiar to them, which does not need to spend extra effort.
- The absence of teething in a child. With them, he learns to chew and he forms the correct bite.
- Non-observance by parents of the terms of teaching a child to solid food. It should be taught gradually. If sharply transferred to solid food, this can provoke frequent moods.
When can you begin to accustom to solid food?
From the moment the introduction of complementary foods, the child should be taught to eat homogeneous and grated mashed potatoes. The baby has an immature digestive system and has no teeth. In addition, up to 6 months they have developed an ejection reflex that protects them from accidentally swallowing objects.
When and how to teach a child to chew solid food? It is not worth introducing complementary foods before 6 months, it will push out food, the nutrition process can lead to vomiting. But over time, he begins to try hard pieces. This occurs when his teeth begin to cut and a desire arises to scratch his gums. Parents should be very careful. Giving your baby bread and cookies is extremely dangerous - he may choke. How to teach a child to eat solid food?
How to understand that he is ready to chew? A child is ready for solid food if:
- The kid looks with interest at the plates of adults, trying to take pieces from them.
- If he puts a spoon in his mouth and this does not cause him a gag reflex.
- If during feeding puree, he does not suck it, but removes it from the spoon with his lips.
These are the main signals that tell parents that the baby is ready for hard pieces. Typically, education begins at 8 to 10 months. Before this period, giving your child solid food is extremely dangerous. During feeding, you should be close and not leave the baby for a second.
How to teach a child to eat solid food?
Doctors recommend starting the process of forming a chewing skill in a baby at an early age. Ways to help ease the learning process:
- Using nibbler is a special strainer in which you need to put fruit or vegetables. Through it, he can safely suck food, taste it, chew without threatening to choke on a piece.
- Calm and patience of parents. You can’t be nervous, scold the baby, scream at him if he doesn’t succeed. It should be ensured that he was comfortable and the food left only positive impressions.
- Buy a teether for the baby - it helps to scratch the gums and forms a chewing reflex.
- How to transfer a child to solid food? Gradually teach your baby to chew solid foods. You need to start with mashed potatoes, then knead the food with a fork, gradually accustom it to eating a more solid consistency. A less uniform food, with small pieces, contributes to the learning process of chewing.
- From 1 year old, give the child small pieces of vegetables and fruits in the hand.
- You should familiarize the baby with the cooking process. You can offer him to stretch his own food with a fork, he will soon get tired of this process and he will start to take pieces and chew them.
- From 1 year old, you should sit the baby at the adult table so that he watches how parents and other family members eat food, and become accustomed to independence.
If there is no appetite
How to teach a child to chew solid food if he refuses to eat? It happens that the baby refuses solid food due to lack of appetite. Then the main task of mom and dad becomes not only teaching the baby to chew, but also stimulating interest in the process of eating food.
Ways to arouse appetite:
- Organize the child’s leisure so that he moves more.
- Give him a rosehip decoction instead of juice. Remove snacks from the diet.
- Serve food on bright dishes, decorate the dish with bright fruits and vegetables. Do not indulge the child’s whims, but also do not scream, do not scold, if he does not succeed.
If a child at 2 years old does not want to eat solid food
How to teach a child to swallow solid food if at 2 years old he does not know how to do this and does not want to eat "adult" food? If the baby is not able to chew and swallow by the age of two, you should consult a pediatrician. If, after consultation, the child is found to be absolutely healthy, the problem should be sought elsewhere.
The most common ones are:
- Late transition to adult food.
- Hyperopec parents.
- Employment of parents.
- Hyperactivity of the child.
In such a situation, parents need to stock up on calm, patience and teach the baby to chew and swallow, explaining how to do it.
The child does not want to chew
There are times when a baby does not agree to eat anything but mashed potatoes. It is especially bad when a child aged 1.5 - 2 years does it, he has already formed habits, and he does not want to change them.
- If he eats fruit with pleasure, but doesn’t want soup, the reason may be the number of teeth the baby has. If he has less than 8 teeth, he simply has nothing to chew.
- Sometimes the rejection of solid food is pedagogical in nature. It just checks the boundaries of acceptable behavior. You should be patient, do not panic and give him the same food some time later.
- You should invite him to choose what he wants to eat. Soup or porridge, the right choice makes an interest in food for the baby.
Useful Tips for Parents
And finally, we will give some recommendations to parents who begin to accustom the baby to "adult" food:
- Gradually, pieces of solid food should be added to the grated food in the blender.
- Make sure that the child does not lose interest in food.
- Involve your baby in the cooking process.
- You can offer him to eat something sweet and tasty, for example, marmalade.
- Sitting at an adult table, he will see what kind of food everyone is eating and will begin to imitate the rest of the family.
The main thing is to be patient and do not stop halfway. Work will not be in vain, after a while the crumbs will begin to eat up food on their own and with great pleasure.