How to teach a child to chew solid food? This question worries all parents. In this case, hunger comes to the rescue. It is he who, being a powerful stimulus, helps the newborn to adapt to the chest. Learning to chew a child is much more difficult. Yes, and the process of switching to solid dishes is sometimes complicated by the baby's parents, using only mashed food in his diet.
How does the process of changing the diet go?
No need to force a child to chew. Gradually, during the feeding process, thicker foods should be added to the baby’s diet, which is not enough to swallow. Then the child will have to start working with his jaws, tongue, lips, forming a lump of food, then moving it to the neck, and there he will be helped by the triggered swallowing reflex.
Many mothers worry that they can’t find the answer to the question of how to teach a child to chew solid food. This is a well-founded alarm. Since it is harmful for a long time to keep the baby on mashed potatoes and cereals. Digestion should work in accordance with the development of the child, and should not become “lazy" due to the fact that in the daily diet there are only liquid and tender dishes. Enzymes and gastric juice are poorly produced, because the food is practically not saturated with saliva. If you offer a grown-up baby a soft meal, the flow to the organs of the digestive system of blood gradually decreases, which leads to a weakening of the stomach itself. Also, the lack of training of the masticatory muscles of the face can adversely affect the formation of its shape and oval, but what is most terrible is the development of occlusion.
How to teach a child to chew?
Each baby has its own character, individual addictions to certain foods. In addition, human organisms work differently. Therefore, there are no specific instructions on how to teach a child to chew solid foods. This fact is associated with the lack of their practical need, individual characteristics of the body and character.
Most often, the baby is too lazy to chew only because the parents themselves deprive him of even the slightest opportunity to try. Cooking takes a long time, and warming up ready-made mashed potatoes is a momentary task, especially since the child eats them with pleasure and gains the necessary weight. But in fact, there is nothing complicated about how to teach a child to chew food on their own. This is a fairly simple process, you only need time and the creation of the necessary conditions. Usually children cope with solid foods without any problems. But for some, it’s hard even after nine months to cope with condensed dishes. Such a temporary phenomenon is most often due to the fact that teething teeth interfere with babies , which injure the gums during chewing, creating pain.
When is it best to teach a child to eat new foods?
From about eight months, you can periodically offer the crumbs slightly condensed clumps of porridge, small pieces of fruit or vegetables, bread, drying or cookies. It is important to switch to a more nutritious diet in time, so that the child learns to work with his lips, tongue and jaws. In general, the sooner dense foods are added to the diet, the better. As soon as the baby’s first teeth appear, even the incisors are a signal that you can begin to add solid food to his diet.
How to teach a child to chew solid foods faster? Gradually, the baby can be seated at an adult table. This is one of the effective ways. All kids love to try solid foods, grabbing slices of vegetables or meat from plates of adults. If the child does this with pleasure, then from eight months you can give him vermicelli, potato soups or meatballs, steamed. The main thing is to carefully monitor so that the baby does not accidentally choke.